"I see. So that's how it is."
'How what is?' Aena thought, but she didn't dare voice her thoughts aloud. She respectfully sat there with her hands clasped and neatly tucked into her lap.
"If you don't want to tell me, then I won't push any further." Aena didn't understand why Instructor Rutherfield finally relented, but she wasn't complaining at any rate.
"Now, about your other subject matters," He paused to open a drawer and expertly rifled through an array of haphazardly packed but orderly files. He pulled out a stack of papers and courteously slid them in front of Aena.
"This is your homework assigned from your various classes. These don't include lecture notes, so you'll have to get those elsewhere," he told Aena.
Aena accepted them thankfully and placed them on her lap.
"Additionally, we distributed academy smartwatches yesterday while you were absent, so I'll hand you yours now."
He proceeded to open another one of his drawers on the large desk and this time pulled out a sleek silver suitcase with a shiny veneer. He pushed the documents he had been working on to the side and placed the case on the table.
He pushed a small button on the side, and it opened with a hiss.
Inside, Aena could see black velvet with spaces for a small item. All except one of the holes was empty. There was only one device remaining. Aena's watch.
Instructor Rutherfield lifted the watch up and handed it to Aena.
She carefully received it and snapped it on her wrist, treating it like an expensive commodity. It was probably made of reinforced carbon alloy, which made it indestructible to most physical attacks let alone a short drop, but Aena couldn't help but unconsciously treat it that way.
"You can set it up later," Instructor Rutherfield waved his hand. "One last thing," he said with a stern look as Aena got up to leave.
"Remember that we teachers are always here to help you. The resources of Astral Academy exist for your success. If you must take further measures… at least let us know" he gave her a rare smile.
"Yes." Aena knew he was referring to an unfounded worry, but she felt touched nonetheless.
She exited the instructor's building to go back to the dormitory. Aena didn't immediately set up her match, she had more vital issues to attend to: she had to make her second visit now.
She had questions for Cassidy Livingstar.
The only problem was that although she knew Cassidy also resided in the Rosengard dorms, she didn't know the exact location of her residence. The dorms didn't publicly post who was in which room, but that didn't wasn't enough to prevent Aena from her search.
She had a very infallible informant after all. She had swapped contacts with Emmy before her sudden collapse, so she opened her old watch and pressed on Emmy and her's conversation thread. She stared at the dim screen in quiet disbelief. She had forgotten exactly what kind of girl Emmy was. She found 69 unread messages.
Shadowqueen11: AEEENNAAAA!!!!! Where are you!!
Shadowqueen11: Hey why aren't you responding?! *sob emoji* x 3
Shadowqueen11: You there?
Shadowqueen11: Hey
Shadowqueen11: I promise I won't bother you anymore
Shadowqueen11: Did something happen? Please… I'm dying to know
Shadowqueen11: Don't tell me, is this the first victim of Mr. Rutherfield? I can't believe it's happening already *sweat emoticon*
Shadowqueen11: I think they're among us…
Shadowqueen11: Aena come back, I think Mr. Rutherfield is eyeing me…
Shadowqueen11: Please! I need someone to protect me!
Shadowqueen11: Oi.
Shadowqueen11: gurl
Shadowqueen11: Are you alright? Message me when you get back *worried face*
There were more messages, but Aena didn't bother scrolling through the rest. It was probably the same shit, to say the least. Yet Aena couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at the spirited girl. Her actions sure were funny.
She quickly sent a reply and immediately got a response.
Shadowqueen11: Oh! You're back! Congratulations on your return, wanna go out and celebrate tonight?
Shadowqueen11: This is a momentous occasion!
Shadowqueen1: Btw, where were you?
Fallenmage: *skull emoji*
Aena quickly brushed her energy off with a skull emoji—they were quite versatile and gave an ambiguous response which Aena shamelessly abused. When in doubt, always press "skull."
She then quickly transitioned to a question about Cassidy's dorm information. She ignored Emmy's last question; once that girl caught the trail of something, she wouldn't let go until it was stripped bare. She would be pestered incessantly, but even she didn't really know what had happened, so how could she explain it to someone else?
Shadowqueen11: Room 215 should be the one
Shadowqueen11: Hmmm? Wait that's odd
Shadowqueen11: why are you living there too?
Fallenmage: *confused sticker*
Fallenmage: what do you mean?
Aena was mystified—was there some tacitly established restriction that she was not aware of?
Aena nonetheless thanked Emmy for the information which god knows how she got her hands on. Without Emmy, it would have been much more troublesome to find Cassidy. She could've asked the reticent girl in class, but her apprehension was getting the better of her.
After receiving the location, she hurried in search of the room number. She ignored the last response for now. It would be inefficient to worry about that now. Aena would inform her sooner or later, whether she wanted to or not.
Still, the question did raise some previous doubts in her mind.
'Whatever, Emmy has a deluge of useless information anyway.' Despite her talent for communication and espionage, Emmy provided her with unfiltered information—she probably considered it as entertainment for her. Aena was just a conversation partner for Emmy to unload her excess extrovert energy. Still, knowledge was power, so she was inwardly grateful.
Tapping her bracelet on the entry scanner, Aena ducked into the dorm foyer. She passed by multiple seemingly empty rooms. Although the dorm had dozens of rooms, it surprisingly didn't take her too long to find the one she was looking for. Room 215.
It was located only a stones throw away from Aena's own room, which made sense when she thought back to her first meeting with Cassidy. She was heading toward the direction she was coming from, so they were definitely at least in the same wing.
Aena took a deep breath to collect her thoughts; there were a few things that she had to ask. Although unsought, it remained a fact that Cassidy had gone out of her way to help her. "Nothing in the world is free," was an adage Aena stood by, especially with powerful entities. So what did Cassidy want from her? What was her agenda?
Cassidy's door inconspicuously matched the rest of the doors. The only indication Aena was at her destination was a small golden plaque beside the door frame that read "215," in small, neat letters. Aena knocked gently and stepped back. She didn't hear any noise. 'Has Cassidy gone out?" Aena thought. She was about to leave when she heard the muffled sound of approaching light footsteps.
Aena spun back around and the door opened to reveal a stunning figure. Aena couldn't help but be taken aback by the girl's alluring curves. She gulped.
Damn Cassidy was hot.