Ballistic Coefficient

As Professor Tomas walked off, Cal and Cynthia turned towards Pale, surprised looks on their faces.

"Pale?" Cynthia asked. "Did you just-"

Slowly, Pale nodded. "I did. Don't ask me why; I wouldn't be able to tell you, myself."

"What does that mean?" Cal asked, tilting his head. "You don't know why you-"

"No," Pale interrupted. "I don't." She let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through her hair. "Just… let it go, please. I'll speak to Kayla about it once she's awake. For now, I just want to try and take it easy."

Cal and Cynthia exchanged a glance with one another, but after a moment, turned back to Pale and gave her a small nod.

"Alright," Cynthia offered. "Whatever your reasons, we won't pry. We owe you that much, at least."

Pale breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks."

With that train of thought now over and done with, Pale looked around the room, trying to see some of the other initiates who'd made it. Her eyes narrowed when she saw a familiar blue cloak in the corner, surrounded by a trio of other haughty-looking young people.

"I'll be right back," she said to Cal and Cynthia, just before marching off to that side of the room. Cal and Cynthia both briefly tried to stop her, but she paid them no mind.

Joel still had something of hers, after all.

He was leaned up against the wall, and naturally, he saw her coming within moments. Rather than shy back from her, however, he stood up straight and crossed his arms, a grin splitting his face as she approached.

"Well, well," he said to her as she drew closer. "Look who made it… or, rather, didn't quite make it, if that little display a short while ago was any indication."

"Save it," Pale demanded. "You have something of mine. I want it back."

"What, you mean this?" Joel motioned to the pack, still thrown over both of his shoulders. His grin widened. "Hm… I don't know. I mean, it's pretty comfortable and very useful. Think I'll hang onto it for a while."

A vein pulsed in Pale's forehead. "It's of little use to you."

"I beg to differ. I mean, once I'm actually enrolled in the Luminarium, I'll need something to help carry my books, and this seems perfect for the job. Besides, it's not like you'll have that problem."

Pale's eyes narrowed. "Just give it back. I need what's inside it."

"What, you mean those little box-like objects full of brass?" Joel shook his head. "Those things were super heavy, so I dumped them in the forest somewhere. Besides, I couldn't figure out what they were for, anyway; that made them dead weight to me."

Pale started to grind her teeth. With her extra ammunition gone, there wasn't much else of value inside of her pack, save for a few rations and some medical supplies, neither of which Joel would know how to use. Normally, the medical supplies would be cause for concern, given that they were hypodermic needles full of the same lifesaving medicine she'd used on Valerie earlier, but at this point, she didn't care. If anything, she hoped Joel was dumb enough to stick himself in an artery with one and bleed out.

"You know," Joel said, his grin widening enough to show off some of his teeth. "If you want it back so badly, you could always take it from me. Of course, that didn't go so well last time, if I recall…"

The people around him – three other boys and one girl – all began to laugh. Pale was unperturbed; if anything, she was more annoyed at the loss of her equipment, not to mention Joel's cockiness.

Still, he had a point. Unless she was willing to put a bullet between his eyes right here and now, there really wasn't much she could do, considering he'd won their last fight with barely any effort. Sure, she'd underestimated him back then, a mistake she wouldn't be making again any time soon, but the fact remained that he had her dead to rights unless she specifically wanted to murder him, and despite his incessant teasing, she wasn't willing to go that far.

Instead, Pale gave him one final glare before turning and marching away. Joel's group all laughed at her even harder as she went, and she ground her teeth yet again as she made her way back to Cal and Cynthia, who were watching her with wide eyes.

"Who is that guy?" Cynthia asked.

"Someone who has something of mine and is unwilling to give it back, but who I am also incapable of strong-arming into turning it over," Pale grunted.

Cal blinked. "He seems like a real asshole."

"Cal!" Cynthia chastised.

"Well, he does." Cal turned back to Pale, frowning. "You really can't do anything about him? Nothing to make him give your stuff back?"

"No," Pale said, bitterness creeping into her tone. "I fought him once and he beat me."

"Really? Even with your weapons?"

"My weapons aren't meant for anything short of lethal force. If I use them on someone, it's because I fully intend to kill them."

Cal's eyes widened. "You really mean that?"

"I do." Pale pointed to her rifle and pistol in turn. "These are not blades, Cal; I cannot use them to disarm someone and force them to yield, for example. They function by propelling small bits of metal forwards faster than the speed of sound. There is no way to make them non-lethal aside from using specialty ammunition, which I do not have."

Cynthia swallowed nervously. "You… make it sound like you've killed people with them."

"Because I have," Pale said. "In self-defense, mind you; you can ask Kayla and she'll confirm it. Safe to say, we've both had quite the travels behind us before coming here."

Cynthia stared at her with wide eyes. "You… how can you be so nonchalant about it?"

Pale shrugged. "It was me or them. I made the logical choice, and I have no regrets. If that bothers you, then that's your problem, not mine."

Cynthia stared at her for a moment, seemingly in shock, before bringing a hand up to rub at the bridge of nose. As Pale watched, she suddenly turned and walked off, as if in a daze.

"Ah…! Cynthia, wait!" Cal called, chasing after her.

Pale watched them both go for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh laden with exhaustion. Even unintentionally, she still drove people away. Kayla was going to be upset with her when she found out, that much was certain.

A sudden flash of purple out of the corner of her eye caught Pale's attention, and she turned towards it, freezing at what she saw.

Valerie was standing a short ways away, staring at her with wide, fear-filled eyes. Pale stared back for a moment before clearing her throat.

"Valerie-"

She didn't get a chance to say anything else before Valerie took several steps back, then abruptly turned and began to run away. Pale stared at her as she disappeared into a nearby room, another sigh escaping her.

"You can't be surprised about that. She was telling a few of us what happened to her legs. That's a justified reaction."

Pale blinked as the familiar voice reached her ears. Without looking back, she let out a slow exhale.

"Nasir," she said evenly. "You made it."

"I did," he confirmed. "No thanks to you."

She turned towards him, and was surprised to find him glaring at her. She blinked, taken aback at the fact that the timid dark elf she'd met just a few days ago seemed to have suddenly grown a bit of a spine.

"What happened?" she asked, unsure of how to continue their conversation. "After I stole your tome, I mean."

"Does it matter?" Nasir questioned, crossing his arms. "I'm in and you're not."

Pale let out another exhale. "No," she said, "I suppose it doesn't. Is that why you wanted to approach me? To rub some salt in the wound?"

"Partly. Really, I just wanted to point out… for all your ruthlessness, you still failed. M-maybe you should reflect on that."

Pale let out an amused snort. "Don't count on it," she told him.

His glare intensified. "Very well," he said. "Then I have nothing further to say to you."

"What is it to you, anyway?" Pale suddenly asked. "Why do you care-"

She turned towards him once more, but he was already walking away. She rolled her eyes and let out an annoyed groan, then leaned up against the nearby wall, crossing her arms and lowering her head.

So far, this entire mission had been an exercise in frustration, one way or another. And to make matters worse, she hadn't even succeeded in gaining entry for herself. Of course, that begged the question of what to do next, she supposed; she couldn't exactly join Kayla at the Luminarium, which left her with precious few options. Perhaps she could head back north and join Evie and Knight-Captain Allen back at Stonebriar, at least for another year?

The thought earned an annoyed grunt from her. Simply put, she couldn't afford to wait another year – there was no telling how much additional progress the Caatex would make with an extra twelve months behind them, all because she had a moment of weakness and let Kayla take the spot.

"Copper for your thoughts?"

Pale blinked, surprised, but turned towards the voice, her expression softening as she did so. "You're awake," she said.

Kayla walked over to her, grimacing as she did so, favoring one leg over the other; Pale peeled herself off the wall, intending to help her, but Kayla waved her off.

"I'll be fine," Kayla said. "Just a bit of residual pain and some numbness in my leg. The healers said it should fade within a day."

Reluctantly, Pale held herself back. "How's your head? They mentioned you'd have a migraine."

"It feels like I just spent a week in an enclosed space listening to your weapons go off continuously. The only thing missing is the ringing in my ears." Kayla's tail lashed behind her in frustration, and she let out a sigh. "So, what happened? The healers filled me in as best as they could, but-"

A pit formed in Pale's stomach. She looked down at the floor. "...I had to spend the rest of our time getting you here so you could be treated, because the medicine I was giving you didn't work."

Kayla blinked. "...You dragged me the entire way here by yourself?"

"No," Pale said. "I carried you. Dragging you would have just made things worse."

Again, Kayla blinked. "I… I don't know what to say, Pale… you saved my life."

"And you've saved mine multiple times since we've been traveling together. Think nothing of it."

Slowly, Kayla nodded, though Pale could tell it was with great reluctance. "So… what happens now? You already turned in our tomes, right?"

Pale grimaced, turning her attention to the floor. "I only had one full set to turn in."

Kayla blinked, her expression falling. "Oh… well, I can't fault you for it; you have a mission, after all-"

"Actually," Pale corrected, "your set was the one I turned in. I kept the one that was short by a tome for myself."

Kayla's eyes widened. "...You did? But… your mission… won't this mean you won't get back home as fast as you want? I mean… that's all you've been talking about-"

"I know," Pale interrupted her. "And… I don't know why. My mind acted on its own, before I even realized what I was saying."

"But then what are you going to do?" Kayla asked, concerned. "Pale, you can't-"

"I already did, and I intend to stand by it, whatever the consequences are," Pale said softly. "I owe my creators an end to their war, I know I do, but… I can't explain it, I just felt compelled to do this for you…"

Kayla froze for a moment, saying nothing. Finally, after a few seconds ticked by, she hesitantly stepped forwards and threw her hands around Pale, pulling her close.

"…Thank you for this," she said softly. "I know it's a huge sacrifice for you. You have my word that I'll do whatever it takes to repay you. Any information you need, you let me know and I'll get it to you somehow as soon as I can. I just… thank you so much, for giving me my dream…"

Pale felt her heart skip a beat, and with great hesitation, brought her arms up, reciprocating Kayla's hug.

"...You're welcome," she said softly. "Just… promise me you'll earn this, Kayla."

"I will," she said emphatically. "You have my word."

The two of them held the hug for a few seconds, though it was soon interrupted by heavy footsteps from off to the side. They separated, both of them turning towards the source of the noise; to Pale's surprise, it was Professor Tomas, approaching them.

"You two, come with me," he said. "I wish to discuss some things with both of you."

With that, he turned away, beckoning for them to follow. Pale and Kayla exchanged a confused glance, but with nothing else to lose, they both did as they had been told.