The weekend classes had already wrapped up earlier in the morning, and most students had filtered off to their dorms or toward brunch chatter in the commons. But tucked away behind the cinnamonwood tree, was one panther-folk, blissfully napping in the shade.

Raveena lay half-curled against the roots, one hand resting loosely on her lap, the other tucked beneath her head like a makeshift pillow.

That is—until something poked her cheek.

“…Mn?”

A soft, sweet voice followed. “Yoohoo~”

Raveena’s eyes fluttered open slowly, blinking against the daylight.

And there, kneeling beside her with a little grin and a faint floral scent—

“Aya…?”

“Mhm~ It’s me,” the rabbit said brightly. “Oh, winds… If you sleep like that, your back’s going to stiffen up something fierce.”

Raveena groaned lightly as she sat up, blinking the haze from her eyes. “Could’ve let me die in peace under this tree.”

Aya giggled. “That’s so dramatic! What would the professors say?”

“…That it was inevitable?” she answered as she stretched her shoulders just a little, then looked sideways at Aya. “What brings you here? And how’d you even find me?”

“Oh~” Aya tapped a finger to her cheek. “Well, I might’ve caught a glimpse of your ears and tail poking out from behind the tree.”

“Seriously?”

“They’re very distinct,” she nodded seriously. “Your tail especially is very hard to miss.”

Raveena gave a small scoff, but her smile remained. “Well… I hope you don’t mind if I take a nap here,” she said, already moving back into her previous position against the cinnamonwood bark.

Aya giggled, tucking her skirt beneath her knees as she settled beside her. “Don’t be silly,” she said. “Who am I to stop you from doing something so harmless? Although if it were raining, then I’d have no choice but to pull you back to the dorms like a proper responsible friend.”

Raveena smiled slightly, eyes already half-lidded. “Don’t worry. I’m not planning to sleep the whole day away.”

“Oh?”

“Just waiting for the wagon to town.”

“The wagon? Why not take the train instead?”

“It’s free, the train isn’t. And I’m a broke student.”

Aya chuckled, letting her body fully relax beside Raveena, back to bark, and her knees pulled up neatly.

“Well, I won’t question the strategy,” she said lightly, “but don’t you have… some kind of allowance from your parents? Students in Arcane Tech usually have to pay for their own project materials, don’t they?”

"I... uhh..." Raveena trailed off, before completely pausing for a bit too long, and that's when Aya saw it. That change in her face, it showed an expression different from when she usually tastes delicious food. This time, it was something that looked... as what Aya could only describe as rather sad.

Then—

“Ah—” Raveena blinked and snapped out of it, shaking her head a little. “Yeah, well… I don’t really have that kind of luxury," then she gave an awkward chuckle, scratching the back of her neck.

"O-oh..."

“I’ve been getting by with salvaging old scraps from the workshop… or finding stuff in town. You’d be surprised how much useful junk there is if you look hard enough.”

“I see…” Aya responded, her voice a bit quieter. She looked up at the tree's canopy, then back to Raveena, still smiling gently. “Well then… I’ll make sure to wake you when it’s nearly time for the wagon.”

Raveena closed her eyes again with a small sigh. “Thanks."

“You’re welcome. Maybe I’ll keep watch over you in the meantime.”

Raveena chuckled, eyes still shut. “There’s no need. But... sure. Do whatever you want.”

Aya giggled. “Mm~ That, I will indeed do.”

And with that, Raveena let her posture settle. As the seconds passed, her breathing grew much calmer, and her ears fell completely still.

And right beside her, the rabbit-folk stayed. Because Aya didn’t mind the quiet.

She liked watching the leaves move.

She liked hearing the distant sound of birds and the distant chatter of students passing by the courtyards.

It was very much comfortable. So comfortable that she too, almost fell asleep as well.

But then, when not even an hour had passed, a voice called out from the other side of the tree. One that's bright, and breezy.

“Ohhh~ so that’s where my roomie ran off to!”

Aya blinked in surprise, slightly startled.

And the voice continued. “I brought some juice from the cafeteria—want one while it’s still cold?”

Aya tilted her head, ears twitching as she caught more of the voice.

"That voice sounds familiar," she thought. Then she leaned slightly to peek around the wide trunk of the cinnamonwood... and there she was.

Tall, auburn-haired, tail swaying behind her. It was the fox-folk girl from earlier. The one from when the professors told them about the ovens earlier.

If Aya remembered correctly…

“Rory Brixton…?” she whispered quietly.

Rory rounded the tree with two juice boxes in hand, humming to herself—then stopped mid-step the moment she spotted Aya, and her eyes widened. “Oh! Whoa! Wait a second—you’re Aya Ribbuns!”

Aya looked up. “Y-yes?”

Rory looked between her and the napping panther, then immediately held up both hands. “Ah—my bad! Didn’t mean to interrupt your nap date or anything.”

“N-no!” Aya waved her hands quickly, cheeks puffing up pink. “It’s nothing like that!”

Rory tilted her head. “Wait... Aya Ribbuns… with my roommate. You two know each other?”

Before Aya could answer, a groggy nnrghh… rose from beside her.

Raveena stirred, ears twitching, and opened one eye with a slow, suffering sigh. She turned slightly to the other side—

And saw Rory.

Standing there. Smiling too brightly for this hour of the morning.

“…Rory. What do you want?” Raveena mumbled.

“Brought you this!” Rory chirped, gently plopping the juice box onto Raveena’s lap. “Thanks for saving me from total humiliation with that announcement speech thing. That little script you wrote? Lifesaver.”

Aya tilted her head and asked, though she didn't mean to eavesdrop, "Script...?"

“Oh, nothing!” Rory grinned at her. “Just something Raveena here whipped up last minute before we got called to the Home Living room. Y’know, the real brains behind that whole oven upgrade.”

Raveena suddenly sat up straighter, now wide awake. “Rory!”

“Mmfh—!” Rory clamped a hand over her own mouth. “Sorry sorry sorry—!”

Aya blinked, looking between them. “Wait—what’s this all about?”

Raveena turned toward her quickly. “It’s nothing. Like she said, just oven stuff.”

But Rory huffed. “Really? Are we seriously keeping secrets from Aya Ribbuns? She’s not gonna go shout it from the courtyard. And it’s not like it’s some classified Arcane tech.”

Raveena groaned, rubbing her forehead. “Ugh…”

Rory plopped herself onto the grass and took a loud sip from her juice box. “Honestly, why bother hiding the fact that you’re the one who did all the tinkering in the first place?”

“Mm-nay~? Raveena was the one who actually did it?” Aya asked.

Rory nodded. “Yeah! This whole cinnamon roll of a techie here doesn’t want any recognition, though. What a weirdo, right?”

“Ohh… so that’s why it felt weird when she was introduced as the assistant. I knew it. Especially since you were the one who fixed that first oven everyone talked about…”

"Wait... you didn’t even consider that I might be some kind of secret Arcane Tech prodigy? Ouch...”" Rory frowned playfully.

Aya shook her head quickly. "Of course not! It's just... if the ovens were improved the same way as the first one, I just thought that it made more sense if it was really Raveena who did it!"

At that, Raveena gave a long, exhausted sigh and palmed her face with one hand.

Rory grinned and jabbed her juice straw in the air. “See? Even Aya already figured it out. You’re the only one around here who could’ve pulled that off. Not wanting credit? That’s just peak loner behavior.”

Raveena groaned again. “Stars above, your mouth just won’t sit still.”

Aya frowned slightly at Raveena now. “But… Miss Brixton's—"

"Oh, you can just call me Rory."

"R-Right! Well, Rory's correct! Why wouldn’t you want to be seen in a good way like that? I mean… wouldn’t it help? Especially with all those weird rumors people still say about you? That may help you at least—”

“Aya, please.” Raveena's voice cut in, suddenly dropping low and firm. “Just… let the topic be.”

Aya flinched, ears drooping down. "But—"

“I don’t want to talk about that kind of stuff right now. Let’s just leave it at—I don’t want credit. Simple as that.”

And then, a very awkward silence followed, with Aya unsure of what to say to Raveena next.

Even Rory was surprised at her sudden change of tone. “Wow. Moody much?”

Raveena’s eyes widened a touch, realizing how she just sounded. She turned quickly to Aya, rushing to clear it out. “Sorry! That came out harsher than I meant. It’s just… kind of a sensitive topic for me. I didn’t mean to snap at you. That was rude.”

Aya looked up at her slowly, ears still down—but her expression softened as she answered gently. “It’s okay… I didn’t know.”

Raveena stared for a moment, clearly uncertain what to do with herself now. Her tail gave a few slow, anxious flicks behind her as the silence returned between them.

Then, in a clumsy attempt to patch the mood, she picked up the unopened juice box Rory had set on her lap.

“…Here,” she said, holding it out to Aya. “You can have it. I’m… not really thirsty.”

At the sudden offer, Aya hesitated—until she caught Rory’s subtle nod from the side. As if saying: "Just let her."

So Aya reached out and took it with both hands gratefully. “Thank you."

“You’re welcome,” Raveena said back to her, though it didn't do any good in keeping the awkward silence away.

Eventually, from the distance, the sound of a small bell rang out. Once. Then again. It was a bright, tinny clanging from the direction of the campus gates.

At that signal, Raveena stood, brushing her skirt down with a sigh. “That’s the wagon bell, time to go.”

"R-Right," Aya said as she looked up at her, still holding the juice. “Take care, okay?”

Raveena did her best to smile in response. Though small and crooked, it was there.

“I’ll be back,” she said. “And… I'm really sorry again.”

Aya nodded, accepting the apology.

And with that, Raveena turned and walked off. She didn’t look back as she crossed through the courtyard path, her figure shrinking slowly until she turned a corner and vanished from view, leaving Aya and Rory behind.

“…She’s quite the character,” Rory said beside Aya with a sigh, popping her straw back in her drink. “So, uh—yeah. Sorry ‘bout her.”

Aya smiled, turning the juice box in her hands, as she looked down with her ears still dropped. “Mm... It’s okay… I think it was mostly my fault anyway. I got a little too pushy. I don’t really know much about Raveena yet. So that was a bit careless of me.”

Rory chuckled beside her, leaning back on one arm. “Yeah, that tracks. But still, I’ll apologize on her behalf. Like I said—anything about recognition or attention? Not her thing. At all. Turns out it’s a really bad topic for her. Found that one out the hard way when we were still getting used to being roommates.”

Aya then looked at Rory curiously. “She was like that with you, too?”

“Oh, absolutely,” Rory nodded. “But worse.”

“Worse?”

Rory grinned, sipping her drink. “Yup. With me, she was all snappy comebacks and had a very intense ‘why are you still talking?’ energy. With you?” She pointed with her straw. “She actually held back.”

Aya tilted her head. “She did…?”

“Mhm. For her, that’s like—emotional restraint of legendary proportions," then Rory shrugged a little, her voice turning soft. “I think it means she really cares about you. In her own weird way.”

At that, Aya couldn't help but just smile as she nodded. Thinking that perhaps, what Rory just said about Raveena was truly the case.

“…I hope so.”