“Come on, that Silurus almost had you! Don’t lie to me,” Mayra laughed as she pushed into their cabin. Behind her, Stella rolled her eyes and shook the water off of her whip.

“I don’t think you could see very well, considering how that banshee had you in her grip,” she replied.

Mayra turned, mouth open in mock offense. “I had that under control!”

With a chuckle, Stella started down the hall to their room. “Come on, let’s get dried off before we catch a cold.”

As they approached the door, Mayra slowed to a stop; she held her hand out to grab Stella’s arm.

She frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“…Something’s in our room,” she muttered.

“Is it stealing our furniture?”

Mayra screwed up her face, listening closer. “No… Maybe. They’re straining with something, at least…”

That was all Stella needed to hear. She swiftly moved to the door, yanked it open…

And saw a girl trying to move their couch.

Mayra peeked over her shoulder. “Terra?”

The girl groaned and cracked an eye open. “Hold… On…!”

Her feet skidded across the hardwood floor as she pulled on the arm with all her might; the couch shifted about a centimeter, and she yelped, stumbling to catch her balance. A wrong step sent her tumbling to the floor.

Mayra darted over to her and put her hands on her shoulder blades. “You okay?” she asked.

Terra let out a defeated sigh and crumbled forward, dropping her head in her hands. “Yeah…”

“Were you trying to steal our couch by yourself?” Stella questioned. She eyed a handful of dark patches on the fabric, which matched the exposed skin of Terra’s hands. With a suppressed sigh, she moved to brush it away.

“…Yeah,” Terra whispered.

Humming, Mayra dropped on the floor next to her and leaned back on her arms. “How come you didn’t invite Prevail? I know Sol would have loved to—”

“I did.”

Stella and Mayra glanced at each other at the sharp tone. “…And they said no?” Stella cautiously asked.

“No. They didn’t say anything,” Terra snapped, voice tight and shaking. She sucked in a breath that sounded suspiciously like a sniffle. “So I came on my own to do it myself… But I couldn’t.” She squeezed her eyes shut and punched her leg. “I can’t do anything.”

“Woah, woah.” Stella sat on the arm closest to them. “Don’t beat yourself for not getting everyone together for Furniture Wars. It’s Friday; they’re probably busy.”

“But it’s not just this! I-it’s Professor Cohen’s class, and meals, and even just talking! I can’t get anyone to get along even though everyone else is and we’re already two weeks in but I still can’t get anything right, and—!”

Mayra shushed her and pulled her into her arms. “Breathe, kid! You’re doing fine!”

Burying her face in her hands, Terra violently shook her head. “M’ not!”

“You are,” Stella firmly said, leaning forward. “Two weeks is not enough time to perfect being a leader. Hell, I’m on my fourth year, and I still don’t feel confident 24/7!”

Terra sniffled and looked up. “You don’t?”

“No! I question every decision I make, worrying if it was the right call or not.” She put a hand on her head. “And you’re a week behind, too, aren’t you? You can’t put this much pressure on yourself when you’ve hardly even been away from home yet.”

“Every team struggles sometimes. I guarantee all of the other first-years are struggling way more than they let on,” Mayra added. “Trust me when I say you’re far from the worst team.”

Stella let out a laugh. “I wouldn’t even say you’re the worst team in your year. You guys at least keep to yourselves.”

Terra tipped her head down, fiddling with the hem of her skirt. Mayra clicked her tongue and lifted one of her hands away.

“How’d you get so much dirt on your hands…? Let me clean this up; you can hang out here until the storm passes.”

Terra’s eyes widened; she yanked her hand back and tucked it into her chest. Unsteadily, she stumbled to her feet. “No, it’s okay! I-I should go talk to my team, anyway. I can clean up there.”

She frowned. “Are you sure? It’ll only take a second, and the rain’s letting up, but it’s not done yet…”

“Yep! I’ll be fine; a little water never hurt me!”

With a fake smile plastered on and a weak laugh escaping, she backed up towards the door.

“T-Thanks for all the advice! I’ll see you later!”

She turned and bolted out of the room, leaving Stella and Mayra staring at the empty spot she had just been standing in. They glanced at each other.

“…She’s an odd one, isn’t she?” Stella asked.

“A little… But that was odd even for her,” Mayra replied. She looked down at the dirt that had rubbed off on her thumbs.

Stella shrugged and leaned back. “At least she didn’t get the couch. I wouldn’t want it in the rain. She already got enough dirt on it… Eve’s going to throw a fit.”

There was a beat of silence. Raising an eyebrow, she turned her head.

“Mayra?”

“…I don’t think this is dirt,” she muttered.

Stella frowned, looking at the patches she hadn’t quite cleaned off entirely. “What? What else would it be?”

Mayra’s eyes narrowed in thought, and she slowly turned her head to look at her leader.

“I think it’s soot.”