The class was huddled around a note on Max's desk when Xander bounced into the room.
"So who is going to teach us today?" Aspen inquired.
Kylo had a confused look on his face. "No clue. Maybe today is a chill day?" He answered.
"Hey guys, what's going on?" Xander set his stuff down at his desk and joined the rest of the group at the front of the room.
"Max won't be here, apparently. Read the note for yourself," Kylo said, handing the lined paper to Xander. It read:
Hey guys, I won't be able to show up today. The town's guard spotted several mythic-class beasts fairly close to the town's lines, so the board sent a few of us teachers out to eliminate them. I hope everyone has a good day and I will see you all once we finish!
Your favorite person,
-Maxmillian Lacuna
"He'll be back, though, and I'm sure he won't be long. His writing says they sent a number of teachers, and I would assume they are all fairly strong. With that said, though…"
"Yeah, I'm wondering the same thing. What are we gonna do today?" Apollo interjected energetically, punching his palm, sending sparks flying.
"No, we are not getting the fire department called. Nope. Not an option," Kylo laughed, hitting Apollo on the back. He quickly pulled his hand back, however, due to the flames erupting from Apollo.
"Do that again and we're fighting," Apollo roared back, grinning ear-to-ear.
Kylo rolled his eyes and sighed his laughter to a stop.
Jinx entered the room, took a look around and cocked her head.
"Max isn't here right now, so we don't really know what to do," Kylo shrugged.
She nodded and set her stuff down near the front of the room.
"Haha, someone's being brave today, aren't they?" Apollo chuckled.
As if on cue, she picked up her stuff and moved back to her regular desk.
"Huh-" Apollo was confused when Aspen and Xander gave him the death stare.
"So what are you guys thinking of doing today? Just relaxing for a little bit?" Kylo sat down in Max's chair and kicked his feet up on the desk's surface, closing his eyes.
"Hey guys, fancy seeing you here" a voice chuckled cooly from the doorway, interrupting Kylo's shuteye. "We're not late, I don't think. Ehh whatever, I don't see Max, so, I've actually been here the whole time."
"Max is a little busy, so you can go ahead and get out of here" Kylo waved his hand and began to look the other way.
"He is? That's neat!" Like a child, Joules replied energetically. "I'll take it from here- oof."
The side of Shiro's hand sent itself down onto Joule's head. "Shut it dork."
"Good morning to you too sunshine," Joules grinned laughing under his breath before getting smacked again.
"I said shut it" Shiro barked, storming to her desk.
Xander turned aside Kylo. "Because Max isn't here, shouldn't they be with the headmaster or something?"
"Damn, I wish they were. I don't know if the headmaster is even here, either. If these beasts caused such a sudden alert, there probably wasn't any time to arrange anything for these losers," Gritting his teeth, Kylo looked at Max's letter again.
Crumpling it, he threw it onto the desk and stood up, ready to make an announcement when someone walked through the door.
"...I think this is the right classroom," a man with long, blond hair and glasses muttered from the doorway, tugging on his own suit.
"And who are you?" Apollo asked.
"You all seem like a lively bunch, especially this early in the morning. I am Abrish Ashbluff, I was sent to meet with Maxmilian Lacuna on the topic of appraising one of his students but I can't seem to find him- Perhaps you'd know? This is his class after all, if I'm not mistaken." Pressing his rectangular-framed glasses back up his nose, he fixed his gaze on Kylo.
"Yes, this is his class. Funny story, he's-" Kylo began before getting interrupted.
"...not here, got it." Ashbluff finished. "My next question would be if a student by the name of Xander Gray is here." Looking at each of the students, he laid eyes upon Xander and started moving towards him, reaching out a hand as if beckoning for a handshake.
"That's Xander, you're right." Kylo rushed up behind Abrish.
Reluctantly putting his hand back at his side, Abrish pulled a note out of his pocket. "I was told to meet with Maxmillian in his classroom this morning and use my appraisal skill to… let me find it… Aha! Yes, that's right. Use my appraisal skill to figure out what Xander's magic skill really is!"
Xander and Kylo looked at each other and then nodded in sync.
"I was confused about that, I'm sure Xander was too. But when were you called here?" Kylo inquired.
"Well, I was asked to come in today a little after the school day ended by Mr. Lacuna to appraise one of his students, so here I am." Abrish spoke matter-of-factly. Turning back to Xander, "Do you have even an inkling as to what your magic skill is?"
Xander slowly shook his head, noticing that everyone else in the room was now watching him.
"That's okay, that's why I'm here. Please, take a seat so we can begin. I'm sure you're dying to know, as are your peers. Even your teacher was making it quite the pressing matter" Abrish smiled a gentle smile, beckoning for Xander to have a seat. "This may take a minute because this information is found within a deeper part of your soul," his grin faded. Abrish began his appraisal.
First he sat facing Xander. Next, Abrish's eyes turned a faint blue as his irises became a geometric design, a faint whirr sounding from him. Xander tried his best to sit completely still. The rest of everyone in the classroom surrounded the two and watched intently.
"Ahh, yes…" Abrish softly exclaimed. His eyes continued to glow brighter, parallel with his equally hyped expression. "I see it. But what's this over here…?" Abrish trailed off, continuing his search through Xander. Abruptly, his eyes returned to normal as he let out a panicked noise. "I can't… I can't get a read on… What is that?" He took a deep breath with a hand on his chest. Mr. Ashbluff attempted to calm down.
"Well... I can tell you that you have a unique ability, which is why it was hard to read. But there's something more… something mysterious I couldn't take a peek into…" Abrish informed Xander.
"What is my skill?" Xander asked back, intrigued.
"You possess the magic skill known as 'Copy.' It allows the caster to copy the magic skill of their opponent and make it their own. There are limitations to this magic, however. Copiers cannot copy the opponent's talent, only the magic. In other words, you still have to learn how to use what you have copied." Pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose again, he stood up and made his way to the door, stopping halfway. "I'm not sure why I was unable to finish appraising your soul. I tried. Never once have I had something completely block me out before. I couldn't even tell what it was based on its shape, which is to say it had none. It was a shapeless mass floating in your soulspace." He had a slightly concerned, but interested look on his face. "From what I could gather, you have an incredible hidden power, one so strong that it forcibly ended my own magic. I would be careful if I were you, Xander Gray, as it could be something dangerous. However, this is very interesting." Sage Ashbluff promptly exited the room.
"That is… awesome!" Kylo exclaimed, putting his hands on Xander's shoulders, who was stunned in surprise and intrigue. "So you can just copy other people's powers? That's insane!"
"Don't even try to take my powers, I'll kill you," Apollo said, flames erupting from his shoulders.
"Congrats Xander, we finally know what your actual skill is," Aspen said, smiling.
"That's so cool," Jinx said softly, avoiding eye contact but still looking at Xander.
"Yeah… it does sound pretty cool," Xander agreed. "That explains why I was able to use both wind and water. I 'copied' the powers of both Adrian and the guy who attacked me in the alley."
Shiro scoffed. "Still sounds weak to me."
"Oh shut it Shiro, you're just jealous," Kylo snapped.
"Me? Jealous? Oh, you've lost your mind. How could I be jealous of him?" She responded.
"Guys, guys, cool it down. It doesn't matter if it's a strong ability or not, what matters is that this pipsqueak doesn't know how to use it properly. He'll never reach the likes of us," Joules said condescendingly.
His friends laughed alongside him. Kylo gritted his teeth, and Xander tried to ignore the comments.
"You guys seem pretty lively, huh?" an old, familiar voice sounded from the doorway.
Turning, and half-relieved, the students saw the headmaster standing in the doorway accompanied by his son.
"Long time no see man" Apollo said, bounding towards Adrian, who was next to his father. As if on cue, a wall of water appeared in front of Apollo, stopping him in his tracks.
Laughing, Adrian strutted into the room, creating a hole in the waterwall and sat down at his desk in his usual fashion. The water quickly evaporated into thin air.
"I was informed about the lack of a teacher in this classroom, and seeing as how we have a special group of students who like to cause trouble, I am here to play the role of an instructor," Caspian took a seat at Max's place.
"Were you also informed about how much of a blank piece of paper Xander really is?" Joules joked. His gang were the only ones who laughed at the joke.
"Hm?" the headmaster cocked his head. "What do you mean?"
"I'm just saying that Xander has no real power right now" Joules giggled, wiping tears from his eyes.
Facepalming, Kylo answered the headmaster's question; "We just learned that Xander possesses an ability called Copy. We had an appraisal mage come in just before you arrived and that's what he said."
"Haha yeah! That guy must've been a nobody because Xander somehow managed to kick him out of his soul. Talk about a joke!" Joules piped back up, this time nobody laughed.
"Appraisal mage? I don't recall one entering the school this morning, my records would show it." Caspian pondered.
Adrian's disgusted glare was finally caught by Xander. "Copy?" Standing up and slamming his hand down onto his desk, he walked over to Xander, Kylo getting in the way. "Don't tell me you copied my family's special power…"
Chuckling, Kylo said, "Bro… I'm gonna hold your hand while I say this, but… it's water. I don't think there's anything special about that"
Contorting his face with confusion before shooting straight back to anger, Adrian coated his sleeves with water and poised himself, ready to strike. "Don't mock the power of my family, you buffoon."
Caspian stood up from his desk and boomed "Quiet, take your seats. All of you. Class began several minutes ago." Tendrils of water erupted from nowhere and pushed each student still standing to the desk nearest their location.
The class groaned as they were each soaking wet now from the water.
"Tch."
"That is a unique technique my boy," Caspian told Xander, kneeling down in front of his desk. "I think we should figure out its conditions."
"It might be unique, but it does nothing unless he has stuff to copy, right?" Shiro questioned from the back.
"You are correct, Shiro," He responded.
"Continuing… that means he has no real power? You can only copy something that exists before you. So he really just uses others to elevate himself?"
Looking at the ground and twiddling his thumbs, Xander sighed.
"That is factual in part. Copy is a blank blueprint, filled with ideas from others. However, those ideas can be used as inspiration and merged to create what can only be described as unique skills never before seen by anyone." Caspian spoke matter-of-factly, unfazed by the blatant attempt at bullying.
"Ah…"
"What explains the block of the appraisal?" Iris questioned.
"That I do not have an answer for, sadly. It could be as someone mentioned earlier: Perhaps he wasn't an accredited appraisal mage and his skill tuckered out," Caspian shamefully admitted.
Mumbling softly, Iris nodded and sank back into her seat.
"Kylo?"
Kylo's demeanor shifted as he was called, by name, by the headmaster himself.
"I want you to hit Xander."
Xander's expression sank. "What?-"
"I would like to see if your ability is copying from exposure to another skill. I doubt you have speed or strength in your arsenal currently, I haven't heard reports of you using any such moves."
"I'm not very durable." Kylo was hiding a smile, which made Xander smirk slightly. "What are you smiling about?!"
"I just wasn't expecting a wise elder to say 'hit that boy!'" Kylo broke out laughing.
"Show more respect to your elders, boy," Caspian said before summoning water over Kylo, drenching him.
Sighing, Kylo slightly smiled again, joking around; "Don't take it personal, kid. Boss' orders." With a fist poised to strike, Xander winced.
Kylo threw a single punch, and made clear contact with Xander's face. He didn't put very much power into it, but it still hurt.
"Now Xander, can you try and imitate his powers?" The Headmaster asked.
"I can try…" Xander replied.
Standing up and facing Kylo, Xander took a breath, closed his eyes for a few seconds then raised his fists and focused on activating Kylo's power. As he threw his punch, it connected with Kylo, yet didn't have any extra power behind it.
"Ow…" Kylo said, rubbing where he got hit.
"Um… I don't think I copied it," Xander said, looking at the Headmaster.
"It appears so…" He replied.
"Hey well at least you were able to get me back, huh?" Kylo said, still rubbing his cheek.
"Wait… so you're telling me I just got punched in the face for nothing?" Xander said, glaring at Kylo and Headmaster Thorne.
"Well at least someone hit you today," Adrian said. The delinquents all laughed.
"Quiet," Caspian scolded his son.
"Tch-"
"It was worth a shot, though." Kylo shrugged.
"Copy this, bro!" Joules shouted, jumping from his desk, pouncing on Perses. Perses tried to kick Joules off of him.
"Get off me" Perses hissed.
"Never!" Joules playfully hit the floor with an open palm, counting to three. "I win!" Helping him up, Joules laughed. Perses was reluctantly joining in, too.
Facepalming, Caspian bellowed; "Take your seats, boys."
"Yes, sir..." Joules slinked back to his desk, fixed its positioning and sat down.
"We still haven't figured out what Xander requires to access his copy magic. I want you all, as students, to think about what it could be that he needs to do. Moving on, a little history lesson is what I have in store for you all." Caspian walked to the board and started to jot down some quick notes.
Xander perked up. "An actual lesson?!" Quickly pulling out a notebook and a pencil, Xander was ready to learn.
"You're still the same nerd I knew you to be" Kylo chuckled, sitting back in his seat with his hands folded behind his head.
"When was I ever a nerd?" Xander asked, scoffing at Kylo in a playful way.
"Come on, Xander, even with all your sulking and emo-ness, I could still tell you paid attention in class and got stuff done. That 'get in, get out' mindset must've helped you get motivation to get your work done huh?" Kylo responded.
Xander did not respond, as his attention slowly drifted to the empty desk beside him, which was then taken by Jinx. Xander found himself staring, so he looked away, his face turned red. He pretended not to notice and began to write the date down on a random page in his notebook (he didn't know the date).
"Hi," she said sweetly.
"Twenty-seven" Xander's autopilot kicked in.
She contorted her face in confusion. "What?"
"What?" Xander shook his head and looked at Jinx, surprised.
Kylo, listening to this interaction, tried his best not to laugh.
Hitting the board, Caspian silenced the class. "Does anyone know our nation's ancient history?"
Apollo raised his hand. Caspian called on him.
"It's uh.. We had a god who created things then broke himself off into smaller deities."
"Lackadaisical answer but you're more or less correct. Our Allfather, Deomni, created all of our world, Orion. When he was done crafting, molding and shaping the world to his liking, he enabled it to be completely autonomous and gave birth to five children, known as the Primordials."
Xander was hastily jotting down this information.
"What exactly are the Primordials? I've heard of them but never really understood it that well…" Shiro slowly admitted to the class.
"Good question, I am glad you asked. The Primordials are, as I've said, the first people to have been born on this planet. They were each given their own continent, hence why there are five continents on Orion. Deomni gifted them with followers and knowledge of the lands they were placed in, in hopes they would erect prosperous nations. The Primordials were the sources of wisdom for all those born during their era." Caspian elegantly of the past.
"Their souls are closer to Deomni than anyone else, having a direct link to the Allfather through his own grace. This sparked a jealousy incomparable to any other form of selfishness in a number of the early peoples. Wars broke out, scandals were plotted, and the peace mankind had known since its dawn was ultimately shattered."
Xander then saw images of the chaos, as if he had been there to see it himself. Armies, thousands strong, toppling walls and burning villages. People huddling together, protecting the youth. And people filled with unbridled rage. All of it was there on the battlefield.
Caspian continued; "The planet, as one of Deomni's greatest creations, was taking damage from the sins of its inhabitants, which in turn took a toll on Deomni's spirit itself. To counteract this, Deomni split himself off into smaller gods, each assigned specific tasks, like Tempiona, God of weather and Celeste, Goddess of the day and night."
Apollo raised his hand and scoffed. "That's a little stupid, though. Deomni breaking himself apart didn't stop the fighting."
Caspian smirked at the remark. "You're correct, but do not forget it helped preserve the world. We don't know his reasoning and he had never told us why he did it, but the world is still standing. It is an act of preservation. Without his sacrifice we wouldn't be where we are today talking about it."
Apollo looked down at his desk's surface.
"What happened with the sins that poisoned Deomni? Breaking apart wouldn't just remove them from existence. If it really did preserve the world, could you explain how?" Iris spoke as if she was onto something.
"It's a hard truth we must face, one we must live with the reality of…" Caspian slowly trailed off, and then took a prolonged pause. Gradually beginning to speak again, he looked forward once more. "The sins that were manifesting within his body became something more; something demonic. We don't know where it went or where it currently is, hence why hardly anyone knows about it. Seeing as it has been several thousand years, this mass of malice has since been deemed a threat of the past."
"So.. it can be implied that there is a chance this 'demon' is still out there somewhere?" Iris asked further.
"...Yes, I suppose so," the headmaster hung his head down.
Perses looked up quickly and gritted his teeth.
"There is one last part to the story, though," Thorne continued.
The class, in unison, leaned in to hear it.
"Deomni's essence within each of the Primordials still exists within them as they live on, impervious to death from age. At least the ones who weren't slain in previous wars. For those concerned over the potential return of the Creature of Sin, this is a good omen. Pure holiness is pitted against the stark contrast thereof; it is theoretically the perfect countermeasure." Caspian held some faint gleam in his voice drowned out by a sunken, elderly face.
The class was silent.
"I pray I have not scared you all. However, it is history and we must make it our mission to learn it or we may be doomed to render ourselves unable to move forward in the case of a backslide."
Kylo opened his mouth as if he were going to make a joke but closed it. Xander raised his hand.
"Yes, Xander?" Caspian immediately responded.
"Do we know of any Primordials? You said that some are still alive, so we have to keep some sort of records of them. Any evidence or hints of their existence?" he asked, intrigued.
"The Primordials choose to hide away. This varies in reasoning, from wanting to simply prevent wars, to the grander reason of wishing to protect the traces of Deomni's influence in case there is a need for them in the future." Caspian explained in a very wise tone of voice, as per usual.
"Ah, yeah. Makes sense. I mean, they never know who might do something with that information" Xander spoke seriously.
"I have spoken enough for this morning. Remember what you learned today, not because it is tested, but because it is important to hold on to it. Keep the Creature of Sin out of conversation with outsiders, please. With that, I dismiss you all to lunch." With a sudden turn, Caspian headed out the door.
"Enough of my father's yapping, I'm out of here." Arrogantly, Adrian stood up and made his way to the door with his usual swaggered gait.
Kylo rolled his eyes and sighed. "Kid's got a lot of problems, doesn't he? He doesn't show up for class yet acts better than everyone else. I'll admit it again, Adrian is talented and pretty darn strong but he does nothing to better himself."
Kylo's words sent Xander on a little introspective journey. "I can relate in a way," Xander thought somberly.
"Adrian is amazing at what he does" a voice piped up from the back.
Turning, Kylo and Xander saw Joules standing on his desk triumphantly.
"And what does he do, exactly?" Kylo asked in a condescending, confused tone, yawning.
"Great question! But whatever that is, he's good at it" Joules idiotically responded, both Kylo and Xander now giving an expressionless stare towards Joules. "Lunch, guys and gals?" Shaking his head, Kylo turned to Jinx.
"Want to go to lunch? We can get the group together and head down if you want."
"But I just asked!!" Joules whimpered, then giggled. "Come on guys, these losers can go get lunch themselves."
Jinx nodded to Kylo and stood up. Xander did the same. Kylo waved to Apollo and motioned for Aspen, and they exited the room and entered the hallway.
"So, Xander, tell me…" Jinx began softly, walking slightly closer to him while hiding her mouth behind her hands, sleeves pulled up over her palms. "With your Copy magic, couldn't you become a powerful magician, wielding so many different abilities?"
Xander laughed a puff of air out of his mouth and scratched his head. "Well… I think that could be the case if I could figure out what activates it," he winced after touching the spot where he was struck earlier, and glared at Kylo.
"Hey man, don't look at me, that's your own thing," Kylo said in a teasing yet mildly off putting tone.
"We're going to figure it out, though," Xander concluded, turning his head back to Jinx, who nodded.
"Yeah man! Get super strong and fight me!" Apollo boomed, making those who were walking by in the hallway stop and stare at him like he was crazy. "But don't take my magic, that's mine, I tell you, mine!" Apollo added with a ferocious bite.
"Jeez, yeah, okay man," Xander was embarrassed to be seen next to him with everyone else staring.
A heavy but faint boom sounded, followed by rumbling. It ceased just as suddenly as it had started.
"I guess that's Max warding off the beasts," Kylo said.
"It sounds fun out there, I want to go help so bad!" Apollo whined.
"If you want to fight a chimera or a cerberus hound then go ahead. I don't know, though, mythic-class creatures might be out of your league…" Kylo trailed off, agitating Apollo.
Taking the bait, Apollo snapped; "I'll turn them to ashes!"
"Cerberus hounds control fire, dingus."
"Well- I'll just-"
"You'll just ask for help from one of us," Kylo proudly replied, pointing to the rest of the group then holding a finger at himself for a prolonged period. "Especially me!" He winked at Apollo.
"Bleh."
For once Apollo controlled his anger and listened to Kylo. Aspen giggled. "Apollo, you're one silly boy."
Apollo put his fingers in his ears and sang like a child pretending not to listen to their sibling.
"He's out of sorts, eh? I didn't think he'd ever NOT be rage incarnate for once." Xander thought to himself. "Or maybe it's just a sibling thing. Sisters can get to even the most nonchalant brothers." Xander thought about Naomi and smiled.
Turning into the cafeteria, Xander's eyes dilated as he slowed to a stop, mouth ajar at the cafeteria's sheer size and grandeur. His hands at his sides opened as his fingers dropped limply. "This is a cafeteria..?" He asked himself under his breath incredulously.
No longer paying attention to what was going on around him, Kylo and the rest passed Xander and were already several tables ahead of him. Shaking his head and trying to bring himself back within his own mind, he jogged back up to his friends.
"What do you plan on getting, buddy?" a sly, familiar voice asked, close behind Xander. It was Joules.
Curling his lip a little, Xander glanced behind him by barely turning his head. Joules and his whole entourage followed suit.
"I don't think he'll know what anything is. He's new to this entire world after all," Shiro laughed, hitting Joules on the back. Iris sighed, but was startled by a sudden booming voice.
The room went silent as a voice echoed from the front of the dining hall. Lights faded and silky curtains draped themselves back over the high windows, spotlights focused on a far wall. It was the Headmaster.
"Drop what you are doing, faculty and students! I beg for just one moment of your attention!" Headmaster Thorne shouted in a panicked voice, much unlike his usual behavior.
Subtle murmurs of concern and confusion rushed through the cafeteria, even Joules and co. had quieted down.
"A great tragedy has befell our expedition crew during their exam alternative…" Caspian's voice trailed off followed by some distant sobs. "They encountered a band of people and were mercilessly slaughtered…" he struggled to say.
A lean figure moved forward, holding a hand to his chest.
"Is that-" Shiro gasped, a tear falling down her face as she saw who was standing there.
"It is unforgivable what happened to our friends. We were beginning our way back after collecting herbs for alchemy and they just struck. I don't know how they found us or how I got away. It was so sudden… I am at a loss for words right now." The boy held his head low in a weep. "Damn it!" he shouted, falling to his knees.
"W- What?! That's.. Madness! This has to be a messed up prank, right? Right?!" - "What the hell?" - "Who would do such a thing?" Sounds of disarray and violent panic upheaved the silence. Kylo had his hands on his head and was kneeling over. Jinx was standing idle, zoned out. Aspen fell into Apollo's arms, her face buried in the fur lining of his robe, and, comfortingly, he wrapped his arms around her.
"Is that Ken?" Shiro's voice squeaked.
Perses fell to the floor, clutching his chest. Joules knelt down beside him and comforted him, while also crying.
"...A-Amiel…" Kylo's eyes were wide open. He stared at the ground with his hands on the back of his head. He screamed.
"What is going on now-" Xander thought, panicked. He wasn't crying, as he hadn't known anyone, but he felt the heavy emotions in the room "What do I do? What can I say? Is there anything I can do?" He wondered, staring at his friends and his rivals with the same eyes.
The boy named Ken picked back up speaking; "Everyone, remember my name, Ken Clayton. My name now carries weight. It carries on the legacies of those who were killed. It is the name of the man who will find and avenge our fallen sisters and brothers!" his fist shot into the air, triumphantly. A final tear streamed down his cheek.
The crowd of students cheered, emotions flying heavy. Almost everyone lost a friend, or someone they knew, and they were not going to stop until they were avenged.
Shiro made a dash for Ken, pushing through crowds of crying students.
"Wait! W-we need to stick together for Perses!" Joules yelled quietly, struggling to breathe from his current state.
Xander cautiously made his way over to Joules and Perses and knelt down beside them. "I know nothing is okay right now and I don't know much about anything here, but I'm here if you need me." Treating his friend's enemies as he would his friends, he gave a welcoming smile drowning empathy.
Perses shot a furious glare at Xander, hissing through his sobbing state. Xander jumped back. A shallow cut appeared on Xander's cheek, presumably from Perses losing control over his abilities through his emotions.
Also getting cut, Joules held Perses tighter. "I'm here, man."
Xander stood up and walked back to his regular crew, who were trying their best to hold together.
The Headmaster continued his speech, but Xander ignored it.
"Sometimes a change in scenery helps. If you're able, I vote we head out. We can pick up food somewhere else, if you're still hungry," Xander kindly suggested, rubbing Kylo's back.
Slowly staring up at him, Kylo wiped a stream of tears off his cheek and softly nodded, silently. Panting, he got to his feet with the help of Xander.
Still leaning on Apollo, Aspen gave a confirming sound and tried to move with Apollo wrapped around her.
Jinx was still dissociating.
"Jinx.."
No response.
"Jinx."
No response.
Softly tapping her shoulder, she wobbled without response.
Xander grabbed her hand softly, and brought her back to reality. She looked at Xander and began to cry.
Xander hugged her. They stood there for a moment, before Xander let go and spoke. "Let's go, Jinx," he said, still holding her hand. When everyone was ready, they left the room as a crew.