Alderic looked at Orion. "Coruse she will. At least she'll be at the marshmallow roast later." He said starting to walk up the stairs to the dorm building.

A'ine knew they were coming and jumped out in front of them yelling. "Boo!" Alderic jolted up and fell back down the stairs. "Ha! I win!" She yelled gloating over him.

Mitch nodded. "Okay. I believe you." He said looking ahead of him. "I'd say you're welcome but you really shouldn't have to thank for that." He said rolling his shoulders a little. "So, Ember, you like reading right?" He asked hoping to make her feel more comfortable.

Phinesa shrugged. "She wouldn't say. She still won't tell me and it's been three years." She said slowing to almost a stop. "I hid on time when she told me to leave... She doesn't like me seeing her cry..." She said with a sad sigh.

Orion laughed. "We didn't even have a chance!" He said. "So, what were the stakes of the bet anyway?" he asked.He knew he probably shouldn't have brought that up, but he was rather curious.

Ember nodded. "Do you?" She was grateful that Mitch had believed her and changed the subject.

"I guess she's trying to stay strong for you," said Saffy, admiring Saquia. It must have been hard for both of them.

(Pass the ax please!)

(Here take three! ^^ One for each character ^^)

A'ine just laughed. "I'm willing to accept Alderic's look." She said as she bent over snorting as she laughed loudly.

Alderic looked up from his spot in the dirt. He stared at A'ine with wide eyes, no one had ever gotten the jump on him. Ever. He rubbed the back of his head embarrassed.

Phinesa sighed. "She had to be my mom basically but stayed my older sister... She deserved to be happy, even for a little bit... and that vanished quickly." She slumped as she shuffled along her hooves scraping the ground. "I owe her so much..." She said seriously "One time she stopped a man from taking my head for his wall...." She said with a small smile. "You're easy to talk to..."

(Gurr... Pass me a couple of axes.)

(Thanks! Mwhahaha! *runs around hacking at random things with my axes*)

Orion held out a hand to Alderic, still laughing. "You know, I've never seen that expression on you before," he commented.

Saffy smiled at her. "You know, I think I know why she did all that for you. It's 'cause you make her happy, Phinesa! I've noticed how she smiles more when she's around you. Ah, that sounded cheesy, sorry!" Saffy said. "Oh, and thanks for the compliment," she added, wanting to make sure Phinesa knew she appreciated the compliment.

(Here, catch! *tosses you some axes* Also, where's Mitch?)

Alderic shook his head still in disbelief. "Right." He said rolling back onto his back flipping onto his hands. "That's because it's hard to get me out of my grove." He said smiling up at the two on the stairs.

A'ine laughed a little less standing back up. "Well, I still won... I'm going to go take care of these towels." She said smiling walking past the boys.

Mitch shrugged. "I like poetry... Plays and operas." He smiled a little almost as if he was going to laugh. "You know just the normal things guys get laughed at for liking."

Phinesa shook her head. "That's just her being strong for me." She sighed deeply. "I know it hurts her to look at me... Even though I don't remember her Saquia says I look like mom did..." She said walking again trying to look peppy.

"We should probably go get changed," Orion said, smiling. He walked into the boys' dorm, and began ascending the stairs hoping he would remember the way to their room.

"I don't think that's something people should laugh at. I mean, Shakespeare was a guy, and Robert Frost," Ember said, frowning a bit at the idea of Mitch getting laughed at liking something. "Have... have you ever acted?" she asked.

Saffy didn't know what to say to that. She considered changing the subject, but she wanted to allow Phinesa to get some things off her chest. She decided to change the subject slightly. "Where did you live before you came here?" she asked, giving Phinesa the option to keep talking about her sister or to change the subject.

Alderic nodded flipping from on his hands to standing on the main steps. He caught up to Orion. "Jora's pretty cool about everything all things considering... I mean, I can't think of anyone who could smile even a little after almost drowning." He said wanting to make sure that Orion wasn't hurt by scaring Jora.

Mitch let out a breath. "I've done a last minute stand-in for a Shakespeare play... I didn't do it very well. Everything was choppy." He said with a sigh. "I've directed some pretty good plays written by some of the other members of a theater group I was in." He said smiling. "And no one actually has ever laughed at me, and it wouldn't matter if they did. 'I am not the best in the world but I am the best me I can be.'" He said looking up at the sky as they walked.

Phinesa shrugged. "A little bit of everywhere. Mostly the woods though... And it was mostly around an Amish place." She sighed. "They all liked to live like it was still the dark ages, which I didn't mind." She said lightly touching her throat with a joking smiling on her face. "You know minus everyone trying to cut off my head." She said with a laugh in her voice.

"Yeah..." Orion said, still feeling guilty. He was glad Jora was alright though. "She's good at that," he added, smiling. He looked at Alderic out of the corner of his eye, wondering why he had brought up Jora. "What did you do to make her smile?" Orion asked, curious.

"That's a good philosophy," Ember said. "Did you ever write a play yourself?" She asked, hoping he didn't mind that her only contributions to the conversation were questions. She noticed Mitch looking at the sky again. She looked up, wondering what was so interesting. She prefered the sky at night.

"I lived in forests most of my life too!" Saffy said. "And no one's gonna try to cut off your head here. Except for the ax murderer that lives in the closet on the fourth floor." She added the end as a joke.

(I have another character in mind...^^)

Alderic smiled. "Well, first part, you'd have to ask her. Second part I said I'd make sure you weren't beating yourself up about the whole thing." He said jokingly as he started going up the stairs to his and Orion's dorm.

Mitch chuckled a little. "No, 'for my skills are neither for the sword, nor the pen, but something unique.' I do write some poems that some others of the troop liked to make into a play." He smiled when he glanced at her looking at the sky. "It amazes me that they could take something short and turn it into a full play." He said looking back up at the few small white clouds.

Phinesa smiled. "Cool, do you have any sisters?" She asked slowly cheering back up. She heard her stomach growl a little and crossed her arms as they walked.

"I'm not beating myself up!" Orion yelled in mock indignance. He shoved Alderic slightly, trying to lighten the mood, and to avoid talking about anything serious.

"Well, that means your poems were inspiring I guess," said Ember, turning her gaze back toward Mitch. She covered her mouth to conceal a small giggle when she realized he was looking at the sky again.

"Nope!" said Saffy. "Though I wish I did. It can get a bit boring." She said, sighing dramatically. She poked Phinesa in the stomach. "Hungry?" She asked, grinning.