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Friday 22 September 2017
4:10pm

Sociology 171 has just ended and most students are leaving quickly, eager to start their weekend plans. The weather is overcast and cool, a brisk early autumn day. The ascendant Witches on campus are starting to really feel their magic, and sense the presence of other Witches in the area. Today, they are going to find out they aren't the only ones with powers.
Currently, the group is headed to Poor Yorick's. Ostensibly this is for a study group, but magic has pulled them inexorably together.

It had been all but impossible to focus in class. Kalama was exhausted from several nearly-sleepless nights filled with guilt and longing. The lectue on the Salem Witch Trials could have put her to sleep, if she wasn't so afraid of what dreams may come if she dozed off. She took a deep breath of the crisp autumn air and pulled her puffy jacket a little tighter around herself, trying to decide if she wanted to go back home or grab a coffee.

"Hey Kalama," Rowan greeted her, walking out of the building. She noticed dark smudges beneath his eyes and a certain desperation in his typically-peaceful demeanor.

"Oh hey Rowan," She replied, feeling an odd sensation as he came closer. A magnetic pull, like the one that had been haunting her dreams recently. Was she going crazy? Hopefully it was just sleep deprivation. "I was thinking about getting a coffee at Poor Yorick's and going over my notes. You, uh... you want to start a study sess?"

He hesitated for a moment. All of his instincts had been going haywire lately, ever since he convinced that squirrel to take an almond directly out of his hand last week. The deer incident would have convinced him he was losing his mind, if there hadn't been other students around to witness. Now his instincts were pulling him toward his flatmate, as relentless as the tide. "Sure," He accepted her invite with a strained smile. She didn't look too good either. Maybe the weird energy in the apartment was getting to her too. "Should we invite some of the others? My notes this week ain't the greatest."

"Good idea," Kal answered, glancing around at the students trickling out of the lecture hall. They had all done introductions on the first day of class, but she was struggling to match names to faces. "Hey! If anyone is interested, we're going to be studying at Poor Yorick's," She called out, hoping that there would be some other takers. Being alone with Rowan might mean confronting the weird feeling between them, and she wasn't in any kind of mood for introspection with the shadow of what she'd done to Daria hanging over her head.

Caleb adjusted the ice pack he had strapped to his thigh before class and let out an exasperated sigh. Most of the ice had already melted in the long wait for class to be over and it hadn't exactly helped with the pain, probably he wasn't actually suffering any real injury. The other people in them room were making there way out, and Caleb glanced around to realize he was one of the last people inside. He shoved his belongings into his bag, roughly pushed his chair back and left.

Caleb blinked as his eyes adjusted to the sunlight after the class which felt like it took a month. Bed was the most appealing option next, but he knew it would be sometime before he could sleep and even if he did his dreams were odd recently. There weren't any pledge activities going on today and he had already seen there wasn't a work shift to cover today. Maybe a couple reps at the gym would be just the thing to take his mind off his leg through. Honestly, his newly discovered gift was a potential gold mine, but he had to get his shit under control. No more pain when healing people, and he was totally uninterested in starting another fire. He could still hear Daria's gentle moans of pleasure transforming into the a screech of pain...

He shook himself out of his reverie, and was about to commit to his plan to go work out, when he heard the girl's invitation to head to Poor Yorick's. He glanced over and saw a fairly attractive pair standing together, one of the gave off the vibe of being one of those modern day hippie types and the other of a woman who had been to many a protest. He had forgotten their names immediately after they had introduced themselves on the first day. More importantly, both were hot as hell, and Caleb considered that taking either of them down or preferably both would have a far larger chance of improving his mood. Not just their looks though, he felt compelled to go where they were as something about them called to him. Maybe it was the fact he had not actually taken notes today.

Giving an internal shrug, Caleb casually took off the light denim jacket he'd been wearing, revealing the athletic tank he wore beneath which better showed off his powerful toned body. He moved towards them, and noted another had joined their group. He was dressed like a goth or emo kid and stood in a way that gave Caleb the impression he would have perfectly happy to sink into the floor. Caleb quickly dismissed him from his attention writing the boy off as pathetic. The sense of being drawn in had definitely increased though.

"Hell, I'll come along, spending an afternoon with you both sounds good." He waited till they were looking at him and slowly moved his eyes over both of then giving a confidently slow and wicked smile showing his approval. He paid no attention to the other boy in the group at all. His leg ached, but he ignored it.

Next: @sanity43217

Despite the fact that the class was now over, the scratch of Valeria's pen continued across her paper as she painstakingly finished off her notes, the tip of her tongue sticking out the side of her mouth. The scrawl was unusual for a college class, not just for being written in Cyrillic script but for not being typed up on the more typical laptop she had shoved to one side.

Val wouldn't delude anyone though, she needed all the help she could get. Despite being immersed in the English language for over half a decade now, she still found it easier at times to fall back on the crutch of her native tongue - especially keeping up with lecture notes-, a sprawl of various English words scribbled in the margins for when she converted the notes to digital.

Finally satisfied with her work and pointedly not admitting she was lost on at least one topic, the last trails of ink from the cheap ballpoint smudged as the brunette promptly shoved everything into her bag with little regard for organization. That was a problem for future Val. Or sleepless Val, who was becoming increasingly unsettled for the past two weeks since her nights became unnerving and restless.

Sleep was important, and this would not stand!

... At least, if there was a solution that didn't make her sound crazy.

Exhaling sharply through her nose, Valeria threw her bag over her shoulder and finally left the lecture hall. Some people politely shifted aside as her long gait passed them, though if it was manners or learning that the brick wall of a woman would sometimes just walk into people if lost in thought was another matter altogether. In the Central Courtyard she had already begun taking the path back to her apartment, when the call of a classmate behind her caught Val's attention. Twisting to glance over her shoulder, the brunette's eyes brightened as she noticed a small group gathering, something tugging just in her chest.

Salvation!

"A study group!" It took only a few strides to back track towards the group, promptly throwing an arm around both the familiar man as well as the nearest person on Val's other side - the girl that had called out. Kamala? Maybe? That had to be close. "At the cafe with the strange name. Good choice." Making a point to meet her eyes with the other two men of the group, the older man and the one with the coat that looked far too hot for this weather, Val flashed them a friendly grin before turning to the one at her right.

"And Caleb! It is good to see you again. I overworked my arms, had to take a small break from the gym. We will catch up!" Even now the faded hint of a bruise was visible along Val's biceps, the last trace of the damage done to them after certain... incidents. That she was pointedly trying not to think about during daytime hours, thank you very much brain!

As the stream of students leaving the building faded to a trickle and then into nothing, the small group that assembled reminded Kal of a rejected version of the Breakfast Club bunch. An eclectic assortment, to put it lightly, but despite their differences each of them exerted that certain pull on her soul. Maybe this was what Rowan meant by auras, she figured, or maybe she was actually going nuts in addition to the whole fire thing.

And, speaking of the devil, Caleb had decided to join them. Despite wanting to keep a low profile, she couldn't help the stormy look that passed across her face, especially when the had the nerve to hit on her. Was he playing games, or was he just dumb?

"Looks like this is it. Let's get going," Rowan suggested, sensing the tension and starting the short walk to Poor Yorick's before anything could boil over. He wasn't sure what was going on between his roommate and Caleb - thank god the Russian girl had said his name, because Rowan sure as shit didn't remember it. "So Caleb, right? I'm Rowan. And I'm sorry, can you tell me your name again?" He asked Ben, hoping to start a conversation between the three guys that would prevent the trouble he could see brewing in Kal's gaze. Judging by the look on Caleb's face when his eyes roamed over Rowan's lean figure, it wouldn't be hard to distract him.

Of course, that left the pyrokinetic to walk next to Valeria - a name and a face she remembered clearly, if not for the right reasons. It was definitely not a place she minded being, although being so close to the amazonian hottie made her palms a little sweaty. The last thing she needed on her plate right now was more confusing feelings, but hormones don't listen to reason. "So, Valeria... did the lecture make any sense to you?" Kal asked nervously, trying to make small talk. She suddenly wished she didn't look a complete mess, but if she had any hidden makeover superpowers they weren't making themselves known.

The protest girl’s face passed through a complex expression after Caleb made his introductions, which Caleb noted with very little concern. He had an excellent sense of people though it could sometimes take a couple minutes to get a good read on them. One of the reasons he had been doing so well in his fraternity pledge was due to this, so using it to figure out the best way to get the protest girl’s good side was likely to be a piece of cake assuming she was interested in men. It just took patience on his end. In the meantime, Rowan seemed far more open to his advances.

He felt a heavy arm wrap around him “What’s up Val?” Caleb greeted her with a genuine smile. Val was a hell of a human being, doggedly pursuing her dream of breaking a world record in lifting. From what Caleb had seen in the gym, she never gave up and would never take the easy way out. Spotting the bruising on her arms though, it looked like she had pushed herself too hard. He frowned at them and gave her a faux-upset look, before pulling out his cellphone. Quickly, he accessed the shared google calendar the BCC gym staff shared and set an appointment for her with the massage therapist for tomorrow. He was allowed a certain amount of free monthly amenities and this seemed simple enough. He shared the appointment details to Val’s phone before storing the phone away.

In the meantime, the cute slightly older man had started up talking to him introducing himself as Rowan as they began walking to Poor Yorick’s. “Rowan, huh? I like it.” The other member of the group Rowan had attempted to talk to, began blasting music and moving away from them, which suited Caleb just fine as it gave him to talk to Rowan more. Behind him, he was vaguely aware of some conversation between Val and the angry girl, but Rowan was quite distracting at the present for him to pay it much mind.

“So tell me, how do you keep your dreads looking so nice? I have seen a lot of people try and pull these off and just fail so completely.” Caleb eyed them appreciatively as it was a difficult look for many to pull off. The sound of a nearby car horn demanded his attention as a driver shouted at the odd kid who had stopped in the middle of the road and was staring at him. Then a rat of all things leapt out of the sewer and chomped down on the exiting driver’s hand, who began shouting for help. Caleb hesitated for a moment, before inspiration struck as he glanced slyly at both Rowan and Kalama for a split second before running right at the driver. Quickly, he used enough strength to pry the rat’s teeth out of the man’s hand and then tossed the rat away underhanded in case either of the pair was an animal-lover. The task was easy enough given all his time spent training the only difficult part being the rat’s rapid motions. He briefly considered just healing the wound, but quickly decided against it as it would be rather obvious.

He gave the man some rapid directions to the nearest urgent care and told him his name, just in case his help here today had some potential positives in the future. Turning back and walking to the rest of the group, he took some water from his water bottles and rinsed off his hands. Glancing at the rest of the party with an upraised eyebrow and a small cocky glint in his eye, he asked, “Does anyone have any Purell or something?” He glanced between Rowan and Kamala to gauge their reactions to his “heroics.”

Glancing down, the goth kid before had doubled over and was leaning against a lamp post. Caleb looked back to where the rat had been and the goth doubled over in pain. What had just happened was bizarre and suspicion began to form in Caleb’s head. He squatted down slightly and slid the goth’s headphones off his ears, making sure to look him in the eye with a serious expression that the others may take as somewhat caring and asked “What did you say your name was again?” Caleb wasn’t sure what he was looking for quite yet, but Ben’s response after the odd event seemed… familiar.

As everyone settled and began the walk to Poor Yorick's, the vibration coming from Val's phone had her fishing it out of her cargo pants to glance at. The shared appointment had her swiping the notification for the details, and despite the fact that he was now wrapped up in a conversation with Rowan she nonetheless flashed a grin at the back of Caleb's head. She would have to thank him later for the time slot with the gym's massage therapist. After all, the day after she stumbled across the flipped car on her early morning jog, on that remote little street, she hadn't even been able to lift her arms all the way. If Val hadn't been in turmoil over what had happened, she might've even made an appointment for help herself.

So yes, she would have to thank Caleb when he wasn't making friends!

The phone was replaced in Val's pocket so as not to be rude as they continued on their little journey. She deliberately shortened her stride, her best friend's words echoing in the back of her mind of being far too fast of a walker. That left the guys in front, girls in the back. Val cast her walking companion a customary bright smile, focusing in on her to be a good conversationalist. The other woman seemed... nervous, maybe? Reading others was never Valeria's forte.

Plus, her smile quickly turned sheepish at the question, and she reflexively attempted to smooth over her own inadequacies.

"Some things were a little confusing, yes, but I think I have the gist of it." Here Val flicked her dark eyes forward, noting that one of the guys had headphones on and the other two were still engaged in conversation. Deeming it safe, she dipped her head and lowered her voice to speak. "Men are idiots."

She laughed at her own joke, straightening up. "I kid, I kid! More important though, you have me at disadvantage. You remember my name, but I am not sure I remember yours. Is it Kamala? Forgive me, sixty names are a lot to remember at once!"

The sudden honking of a horn had Val's eyes cutting forward once more, her lips tugging down into a slight frown. The driver of a nearby vehicle seemed agitated, getting outside of it aggressively and moving towards them. She put a foot forward to move between the group and him, only for a different savior to appear.

"Is that... a rat?" The puzzlement in her voice was clear, the confusion delaying any helpful actions. Thankfully Caleb was on the ball and intervened with the man, who was no doubt having a very bad day between his actions and unfortunate accidents. She gave him what she considered a subtle thumbs up when he returned.

Still, the odd adventure to the Poverty Man's cafe was not quite done. Val couldn't help but raise a hand to rub the back of her neck, a nervous tick, before finally stepping up beside the bent over man as well. She patted him on the back comfortingly.

"It is ... Ken, yes? Ken! You do not have to worry, we would not let anyone assault you. That man, he seemed quite deranged." A pause, before Valeria added on softer, "I learned that word from Word A Day calendar. Very useful."

"Well actually, I only use-" Rowan's secret was lost to the sudden screech of van tires, leaving the older student to stare in shock as events unfolded. Though his instincts leaned towards intervention, surprise won over and he stayed on the sidewalk as Caleb hurried over to render aid. Normally he would have been berating himself over losing his edge, but today there were bigger things on his mind. What had that rat been doing? Had he somehow summoned it, convinced it to bite the man without consciously intending to? That seemed highly unlikely, but if it wasn't his powers reactivating then what else could possibly be the cause?

His suspicions fell onto the doubled over 'Ken' at about the same time as Caleb's, and Rowan strode purposefully across the street to join the others crowded around him. Maybe this was the weird vibe, some sort of sense for others like him. But of all the people at BCC to share this surreal secret with, why did it have to be the angsty goth kid? "What did you do?" He asked intensely, surprised to hear the loud, crisp tones of his military voice. He had been soft-spoken and gentle for years now, but stress was bringing back the corporal in him. "How did you do that?" He rephrased, trying to sound a little less authoritative. Maybe this wasn't the best line of questioning in front of the whole group, but he couldn't bear to wait for answers. If he wasn't the only one with these powers, that would change everything.

The last one to join the cluster, Kalama found herself grateful that everyone else was asking all the questions. She had her own suspicions about the events, but better to let Rowan sound like a crazy person demanding answers about an event only readily explicable through supernatural means. Crazy stuff happens every day, right? If she hadn't just lit a car on fire with her mind the other day, she would have thought the rat thing was just some crazy coincidence. But after all that had happened, she was suspicious that this wasn't natural either.

"Here," she said brusquely as she handed Caleb a small bottle of orange scented hand sanitizer from her backpack. It wasn't a peace offering, not exactly, but after what he had done it seemed fair. She could respect that he had been the first one to act while still hating his guts for other reasons, she figured. Also a little bit of rubbing alcohol would make it very easy to set his hands on fire... but she quickly dismissed that idea. Revenge on Daria had only made her feel worse, though she wasn't ready to confront that inconvenient fact quite yet.

As the breeze picked up she shoved her hands into her jacket pocket, wondering if it was getting chilly out here or if her goosebumps weren't entirely on account of the temperature. There was something really wrong here, and to judge by Rowan's face she wasn't the only one thinking that. Her previous conversation with Val was already all but forgotten, even the sting of getting her name confused with the Californian senator - a surprisingly common mistake that she was starting to get used to. She glanced at Valeria and realized this weird feeling must be serious, if it could distract her from an actual walking work of art.

Ben looked up at Caleb and tried to speak, but instead he projected vomit onto Caleb's shoes.
Ben raised his shirt up just slightly to glance at the newly formed sores.
"Get the fuck away from me. " he angrily said as he pushed himself to his feet.
He wiped the vile from his mouth, "I don't need nor want your pretend friendship, save it for the next retard."
Ben placed his headphones back on, and cranked the volume to high, blasting death metal.
He walked away from them, and the stupid coffee house, crossing back the way he came.

*Why should I hang with them, they're all just a bunch of posers * he thought as he picked up the pace.
Ben doesn't need them,none of them, he has Black Phillip, his only true friend.
He made is way to the old ran down park that he would come to when he was little, memories of a better life then came flooding in, and he wiped his eyes.
Ben sat down in one of the old swings, petting Black Phillip, "They just don't understand , like you do."

" We are so alone, but that's okay, we don't need their fake friendship or their pity." " Just you and me kid." Ben said in his best Bogart voice.
The boy and his rat, they sat there communicating thru each other's minds, and Black Phillip made a joke about Ben puking on Caleb, that sent Ben to the ground laughing uncontrollably.

Rowan came up quickly after himself, and started demanding information far more directly than Caleb was going about it. Immediately, given his already current suspicions he noted, Rowan's second question 'How did you do that?' Was it possible that like himself Rowan had noted the strangeness of the event based on personal experience? Caleb reassessed Rowan, but was interrupted by the arrival of Val, who identified the Scissorhands Wannabe as "Ken." He chuckled lightly at her Word-A-Day, and was offered a container of hand sanitizer from the protest girl with a brusque "Here." He offered her a charming smile as she did, pleased that he was already making some headway with her.

He turned back to face 'Ken' who proceeded to vomit all over his new pair of shoes and then had the gall to insult them all and use a slur in the same sentence. Caleb stood stunned for a moment as 'Ken' moved away from them not offering a word of apology. Caleb was all too suddenly aware of the blood pumping more and more fiercely through his veins as his pulse increased to a crescendo of fiery rage. He could almost see an outline of red around his vision as he looked down at his shoes. The shoes had not been the highest quality of athletic shoe, but they had been the very first pair of new shoes that he had ever owned. It had taken a lot of extra shifts at the BCC gym until he had felt comfortable making the investment. And now that piece of shit Ken had ruined them with not so much as a word.

Caleb's hands clenched into fists, the whites of knuckles showing through his skin. He turned and took a heavy step in the direction Ken had gone, fully intending to slam his fist through the asshole's stomach. As he took that step, however, he heard the squelch come from the vomit in his shoe as well as a sharp twinge of pain from his thigh as the phantom pain limited his motions. His face contorted into a grimace of pain and discomfort for a moment, knocking him out of his temporary state of bloodlust. And for a moment he could hear a scream of incredibly pain, the heat of the sudden flame, and smell of burning flesh and plastic mixed with...orange? He glanced down and noted he had crushed the container of hand sanitizer in his hand by accident.

"Give me a second."He turned away from the group and the direction Ken had gone, and began walking towards a nearby bench. He paused briefly by Kalama and without looking at her muttered "Thanks. Sorry. I'll get you another one soon." The squelch in his steps was near as unbearable as the smell of vomit now radiating up to him. Using the hand not covered in santizer, he gingerly pulled off his shoes and socks and grabbed his water bottles using the remainder of the water to rinse of his legs and shoes as best he could, the socks were a lost cause in his view. He then applied the hand sanitizer to his legs and hands doing the best he could to clean them off. Luckily, he found an old plastic shopping bag in the bottom of his bag and contain his shoes and, more importantly, their scent. The socks were tossed into the nearby trash can.

Caleb sat on the bench for a second fuming trying to fight the urge to run after the prick once again. At the moment though, Rowan had said something that attracted his attention like nothing else. He too, it seemed, had recognized that Ken had down something to call out the rat. It was possible then, that like him Rowan had or at least knew something about his new abilities and that was critically important. If Rowan had some clue about how to get his healing power working properly and even more vitally how to prevent his sudden burst of pyrokinesis then Caleb had to find out.

With a couple deep calming breaths, Caleb promised his own sense of rage that he would find Ken later and make him pay for what he had done. He walked back the group, well-versed in walking distances barefoot, and gestured to Poor Yorick's now visible in the distance. "Let's get going, I don't think that guy is coming back and we got some studying to do! Besides,..." He flashed a smile at Rowan and Kalama, moving a hand through his own hair somewhat tensely while also playing it off with a laugh, "pretty sure I deserve a drink after all that."

"... I don't think he's in the mood for study." Val's hand once more drifted up to rub the back of her neck, blowing a few strands of dark hair from her face as the long coated man strode off. Her eyes wouldn't help remain pinned on his retreating back, feeling an insistent tug in her ribs the further he went. Odd. Especially with the volatile way he had broken away from them.

The snap of plastic drew her away from Ken finally, and Val couldn’t help but grimace seeing the broken sanitizer clenched in Caleb’s hands, the tenseness of his body and how it seemed ready to spring. She politely turned her gaze away as he began to clean up the mess, having no intention of embarrassing him further. Instead she focused on the other two present, giving a crooked, sympathetic smile.

”Whatever is going on with our classmate, I am hopeful he works through it.” Valeria took a moment to consciously relax her own muscles, spine having gone briefly ramrod straight hearing Rowan’s authoritative voice moments before. There was a strangeness to the air, felt like a crisp wind. Or maybe that was just her nerves, on edge after everything that had happened in the past two weeks. Hell, just on edge from how she couldn’t seem to get a decent night’s sleep. ”I bet a blue moon is coming. I have - heard of - many strange things lately. There was an animal that came into the food court a few days ago! Not even those little birds like usual, It was - uh,” She gestured helplessly, the english word dancing on the tip of her tongue. “A… a forest horse!”

Valeria’s shoulders slumped a bit and she slapped a hand to her face. That was her own fault for stumbling into an attempt to fill the awkward silence. Save her, word calendar.

She was instead saved from her own fumbling by Caleb’s return. Taking his way out like a shipwrecked man, Val nodded eagerly and gave Caleb a friendly slap on the back.

”You have had a bad day. I will buy our first round of drinks.”

His discipline and mental fortitude could only take him so far though. Kyle kept his mind awake and on point by taking several small and quick gulps of water from his water bottle that he had brought with him and powered on until the end of the lecture. Kyle had not spoken yet to any of his classmates, but at the sound of many people leaving together to go to a study group he stayed in his seat for a few moments after everyone had left. The professor could see Kyle putting his notes together and into the binder he brought and getting ready to leave so the professor paid him no mind. As Kyle gathered his things and stood slowly he began to think to himself. I should...go to that study group thing with the others it was an open invitation after all. I mean, what if I missed something important in the moments my attention was not where it should have been? Kyle began to walk towards the class door, Binder in one hand and water bottle in the other, when he stopped right in front of the door hand outstretched. But...I shouldn't bother others, they don't know me and everyone was.....well no matter. I should at least attempt to exchange lesson information with at least one of them. Kyle left the classroom and walked with a purpose, shoulders broad and head held high even if inside of him he felt the complete opposite. I may not be worth the time it takes to exchange class notes but I missed parts of the lecture, that's on me and I need to take responsibility.

The dreams he had been having as of late continued to burn in an insatiably curious way in his mind. Kyle could almost make out certain parts but just as he would start to remember the details would vanish from his memory. It was beyond irritating to Kyle but he tried his best to push the thoughts out of his mind. He had fallen behind the other students and did not want to get lost trying to find them. It was mostly a straight shot, or rather the way to the destined location was easy to get to, to Poor Yorick's. Kyle had never been, but learning more about the city he was in by reading maps was something he did every time he moved to a new city or base. It helped put his mind at ease for in the event of an emergency he wouldn't be completely lost at least. Although.......his sense of direction left much to be desired. It took a fair bit of time but pretty soon the group of students he has seen leaving together and more were in view at least. Kyle was wearing a V neck dark blue, long sleeve shirt with black jeans and slip on shoes with black socks. Not the most comfortable thing to run in but as his physique was in excellent condition since he kept up his army training regiment after been released Kyle had been able to catch up without breaking a sweat. It simply took awhile, to the point where they were almost at their predestined location by the time he had caught up.

Kyle had not seen the rat, the injured man, or anything out of the ordinary besides some minor distress that he had no idea the cause of. When Kyle was within loud voice speaking distance he spoke up hoping at least on person would respond. Howdy, Kyle said in a loud enough tone to be heard but not loud enough to be considered shouting, Im..Kyle..From class. I was hoping I could join ya'll. Kyle rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand. Christ he hated talking to people. He was sure they would tell him to fuck off. He looked so out of place, a young muscular adult who just sorta came from nowhere. He had stayed silent the entire class so did anyone even notice him? Hopefully not.

Forest horse. After all the tension and strangeness of the past few minutes, Valeria's statement was so delightfully incongruous that Kalama couldn't help but giggle. Even Rowan, trying his best not to offend their athletic companion, couldn't hold back a brief chuckle. Everything about the situation was surreal, and each of them was suspicious of it for their own reasons, but he could feel that some tension had subsided within the group. Despite Kal's initial hostility towards Caleb, Rowan could tell her guard had dropped a little after his actions. Of course, he could also tell that was exactly what Caleb had intended - all his time in the military had made Corporal Childe adept at reading group dynamics, and that was a skill that translated well here.

"Thanks Valeria! I work at Poor Yorick's, so if I make our drinks we can get them half price," Kalama offered, well aware that her barista skills were way ahead of the evening's scheduled crew. And that gave her an opportunity to put a heart in Valeria's foam... not that it was the reason she offered, of course. There was much too much going on to be distracted by beautiful women, no matter how muscular.

The arrival of another member to their party was unexpected, but not unwelcome. Rowan immediately made space for Kyle to walk beside them and offered him a kind smile. "Sure thing, Kyle. We can never have too many notes at a group study. I'm Rowan. That's Kalama, Caleb, and Valeria," he introduced, hoping the odd events of the past few minutes would quickly be forgotten. Especially the way he had almost tripped over his own feet when Valeria brought up the deer he had summoned. His newfound power felt so surreal he wanted to make sure he wasn't just imagining things, but he hadn't realized how much attention that would draw until he came out of his trance to realize that dozens of other students had just witnessed a deer come up and take an apple out of his hand while he appeared to be meditating. It was on Instagram almost immediately, and even though he didn't have social media he had heard enough whispers around campus to know he had fucked up.

Luckily there was no time for the group to gossip before they arrived at the coffee house. Kalama lead the way to a more private table in back, leaving her bag and coat and rolling up her sleeves to get to work on the drinks. "So, let me guess. Rowan wants a chai with almond milk. Valeria, I think you look like a whole milk latte kind of girl. Kyle... brewed coffee with cream, no sugar? And Caleb - nonfat caramel latte with cinnamon. Am I close?" She asked, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

Caleb had meant for Rowan or Kalama to buy him a drink, but Val was too genuine to be upset at. His back stung a little from her friendly slap, as it wasn't for nothing that she was pursuing the world record in women's deadlifting. He threw an arm around Val's shoulder companionably and exclaimed, "Val, you have to know your the best right? I mean, you just have to." Glancing back at Kalama with an appreciative smile, Caleb was happy to hear that his drinks would be quite cheap there one of the benefits of course of making connections.

Another student from the class ran towards him, identifying himself as Kyle. Caleb had seen him in class once or twice maybe, but he had not made much of an impression, cute enough he supposed, but Caleb wasn't actually certain that he had ever heard the man talked. It was interesting that the same feeling of being drawn to him was happening now in fact as he felt with the others in this group including oddly Ken. Still, when Rowan introduced him, Caleb waved one of his hands at Kyle as his name came up. "Hey, what's up man?"

As they reached the private table in the back Kalama started to work on their drink orders which she had gotten surprisingly correct. He let out an appreciative whistle. She looked quite at home making drinks here and it was fairly clear to see she moved around the back with a lot of efficiency. Caleb made sure to grab a seat next to Rowan, half out of attraction, but also because he had a couple questions to ask him if they managed to get a moment alone. Caleb pulled out his backpack and retrieved his notebook well worn from age. He glanced at the rest of the group and with a smile said "I don't suppose anyone was able to stay awake long enough to figure out what was discussed in class today." He ripped out a piece of paper and handed it to Rowan besides him,"Here, why don't you go ahead and give me your number … and then pass it around I suppose. I can set up a group chat if we decide to do this again."

With the addition of another person, as well as the trickle of laughter from her own slip up, Valeria felt her own grin returning as the oppressive atmosphere eased. She raised a hand to give a little wave to the new addition, nodding eagerly.

"You overheard my offer to buy drinks and now you want to join? For shame." The brunette laughed, showing she was teasing and gesturing for Kyle to follow them with a broad wave. There was that same odd, almost physical tug behind her ribs as the man approached and introduced himself, same as it had done when she herself approached the group earlier. This campus was strange.

At the more secluded table Val set her bag down on a chair and promptly left it with all the confidence of a person who's never had it stolen before. She hummed thoughtfully as Kalama listed off drinks with a stunning accuracy, though it jostled something in her brain. Valeria placed a hand against her chin, staring at the other woman thoughtfully. "... Kalama! Yes! I have heard others talk about you before, I remember now! Good things, of course. They were very impressed with your drink skills."

The Russian gave another broad grin, blinding and friendly. "I will take whatever you prefer then, I leave myself in your capable hands." She still felt a little bad about getting her name wrong, as Rowan indirectly corrected her earlier with introductions. For now though, with her drink handled, Val maneuvered to the display case of prebaked goods closer to the front of the cafe. A quick exchange with another, less busy employee gave her a slice of banana bread on a small plate, and she returned to the table with her new prize.

"I wrote notes, but..." Valeria dropped into her seat, small plate set to one side as she retrieved the page she had just previously shoved haphazardly in her pack. The ink was streaked across the last few sentences. Guess it was Present-Val's problem now. "... I will rewrite them in English."

And with less smudging.