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Kat has a talk with Riddle after school, and encounters a very loud individual.
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Hands in her pockets, Kat strolled up to the stables.
There wasn't really much to say about them besides that...
They were, indeed, stables. Pretty big ones too, and well-kept.
There were a few horses roaming around in a paddock attached to the building.
They raised their heads, ears pricking, as she got closer.
Then they apparently decided she wasn't very interesting. Turning away, they went back to munching on hay or leaning against each other or other such horse activities.
She got closer to the stables, heading towards the open doors, when...
"WHO GOES THERE?! HALT!"
Kat jumped, startled.
"Ack! Fuck--"
She looked around, seeing a tall, broad-shouldered figure striding purposefully towards her.
"Um," she tried, but the other person was already speaking again... Or, more accurately, shouting.
"THIS AREA IS RESERVED FOR EQUESTRIAN CLUB ACTIVITIES FOR THE DURATION OF THE AFTERNOON! OUTSIDERS CANNOT JUST WANDER ABOUT AS THEY PLEASE!"
She flinched involuntarily, taking a small step back.
God, this guy was loud... Did he not have a volume control?
Even the horses in the paddock were starting to look uncomfortable, picking up their hooves and swiveling their ears.
The stranger loomed over her, hands on his hips.
Geez, he was tall...
He was probably a couple inches taller than the Headmaster and Crewel. How tall was that, six-two?
He had an angular, chiseled face with piercing eyes and strong as hell eyebrows, the same pale green color as his hair.
The hair itself was slicked back from his forehead in a kind of swoop...
God damn, how much hair gel did this dude go through per week?
She didn't know the masculine body types off the top of her head, but the best way she could describe this guy was...
That he was shaped like a small triangle on top of a tall cylinder.
He had that slim, athletic triangle torso, like some kind of martial artist, with sinewy arms to match. Below his ribcage, though, he pretty much just went straight down into a pair of long-ass legs.
"IDENTIFY YOURSELF AND STATE YOUR BUSINESS IMMEDIATELY!" He ordered, glaring down at her with sharp, olive-green eyes. "IN WHAT DORMITORY DO YOU RESIDE?! WHERE IS YOUR VEST AND ARMBAND?!"
Kat winced, shrinking back a little bit and gritting her teeth.
"I-- I'm sorry, I just wanted to talk to--"
"WHAT?!" He demanded, interrupting her. "SPEAK UP! DON'T MAKE ME REPEAT MYSELF, HUMAN! DIDN'T ANYONE TEACH YOU ANY MANNERS?!"
'Human'? She thought, still flinching a little as she stepped back.
That was weird...
He didn't have a tail that she could see, and his ears were fully visible, on the sides of his head where they 'should' be.
They were also round, not pointed like the Headmaster's.
His hair and eyebrows were definitely out of the norm, in her experience...
But, again, she was literally 99.999% certain, this was some kind of anime world, so that wasn't definite proof by any means.
"Look," she tried again. "I was just coming over to see if I could talk to--"
"TALK TO WHOM?!" He interrupted again, stepping forward until he was looming over her. "ARE YOU IMPLYING THAT YOU KNOW SOMEONE IN THIS CLUB?! I'VE CERTAINLY NEVER SEEN YOU BEFORE! TELL ME THE NAME OF YOUR SUPPOSED ACQUAINTANCE, OR ELSE I--"
"SEBEK."
Riddle stood in the doors of the stables, arms crossed. He was wearing his P.E. uniform, and had a horse brush in one hand.
"That's enough. That is no way to speak to the Prefect of Ramshackle House."
"RIDDLE-SENPAI!" The tall newcomer spluttered, straightening up and folding his arms behind his back, like a soldier snapping to attention.
"You are acquainted with this..."
He shot her a suspicious look.
"...Human?"
"Yes, I am," Riddle replied, walking forward and skewering him with a disapproving look. "And I would suggest that you refer to her as 'Miss Kat', or 'Prefect'-- that is her title, and she is very well deserving of it, and the respect that it entails."
'Sebek' blinked.
"...'She'?" He repeated, glancing back at Kat out of the corner of his eye. "I'm sorry, but is this human a..."
He better not say 'female', Kat thought.
"...Woman?"
"Indeed she is," Riddle confirmed, finally bridging the distance and coming to a stop in front of the pair.
"It's bad manners to raise one's voice to a lady... And, she also happens to be an acquaintance of mine. Such discourtesy will NOT be tolerated in my presence. Besides--"
He nodded to the paddock.
The horses had gathered at the farthest end possible, snorting and nickering nervously.
"You're frightening the horses."
"I.... S-See," the green-haired boy muttered, shooting another glance at Kat. "But-- that uniform... Is she a STUDENT here? Isn't Night Raven College a school for MALE mages?"
"That's correct," Riddle confirmed again. "However, the Prefect is... Well, strictly speaking, she's not a mage."
"WHAT?!" The green-haired boy burst out, whipping around to gape, open-mouthed, at Kat, making her wince and shrink back again.
"She's NOT?! THEN HOW IN THE--"
"SEBEK!"
It was 'Sebek's' turn to wince, looking guilty.
"I will NOT repeat myself a second time. Lower your voice."
"Of course," the tall boy agreed, giving a sharp, but slightly sheepish, nod.
Riddle nodded back.
"Suffice it to say, there are... Extenuating circumstances. For the time being, Miss Kat-- or should I say, the Prefect-- has been enrolled in the first-year class, as a beastmaster."
Unfolding his arms, he put his hands on his hips, taking a small step back.
"If you need more details, I'd advise you to speak to the Headmaster, or one of the professors, rather than ambushing her into a one-sided shouting match. Now..."
He paused, blinking as he looked around.
"...Perhaps you could go and locate Silver? He said he was going to check the hurdles, but I haven't seen him since..."
"Wh--"
The green-haired boy stiffened.
"Rrrrr-- why, that... SILVER! Sleeping on the job again, no doubt... I shall go and track him down IMMEDIATELY, Riddle-senpai!"
Giving another sharp nod, he whirled around, striding away in an impressive power-walk.
He actually glanced back briefly, giving Kat one final suspicious glower before shrinking into the distance.
When he was gone, Kat finally let herself relax, shoulders drooping a little as she let out a long sigh.
Giving a quiet, nervous laugh, she brushed some hair behind her ear.
"Thanks," she smiled.
"It was no trouble," Riddle replied, shrugging.
"Sebek is a bit of an odd duck, but he's mostly harmless."
Stepping back again, he straightened his shoulders, hands behind his back.
"Now-- is there anything I can assist you with? And..."
He looked her up and down, then at the ground around her feet.
"...Is Grim not with you this afternoon?"
"Oh-- no, no, he's not," Kat replied, shaking her head. "Don't worry, I didn't just let him wander off by himself-- Deuce is actually keeping an eye on him for a little while for me. And, uh..."
With another nervous smile, she brushed her bangs behind her ear again.
Riddle blinked, eyebrows raising as he took another step back.
"To... Me?" He repeated, seeming slightly taken aback.
"Yeah," she confirmed, nodding. "Oh-- I-if you're busy, it doesn't have to be right NOW, though, I can leave if you want..."
"Oh-- n-no," Riddle said quickly, shaking his own head. "No, it's... It's quite alright... Ahem."
He coughed politely into his fist.
"The truth is, I... Wanted to speak with you as well, so... This is actually quite a pleasant surprise."
He took a step back.
"...Would you mind terribly if we spoke in the stables? This is, after all, still technically club-allotted time, and I have a few more things to see to..."
"Oh-- sure, no problem," Kat agreed, nodding.
Riddle nodded back, then turned back towards the stables with a small bow, indicating that she should follow him.
She did so, holding her elbow with one hand and looking around.
Large, spacious stalls lined the building, floors carpeted in thick layers of clean straw and sawdust.
Horses of all colors stuck their heads out over the stall doors as they passed, and she heard the occasional nicker or huff.
After a little while, Riddle slowed to a stop in front of a particular stall on the right side of the building.
There was a horse in this stall, too-- no big surprise there.
It had its whole head and neck sticking out over its stall door, watching Riddle intently as he put the brush he was holding back into a large plastic bucket.
Straightening back up, Riddle turned, watching as she approached.
"Who's this?" Kat asked, tilting her head at the horse.
"This is Vorpal," Riddle replied, laying a hand on the horse's neck.
"Unlike most of the others housed in this stable, he is my personal horse-- I was permitted to transfer him to the campus stables when I enrolled, provided my family sees to all his expenses, and I care for him myself."
The horse huffed, bringing his nose over to Riddle's head and ruffling his hair with a long breath.
Riddle chuckled, lightly pushing him away and smoothing down his hair.
"He's gorgeous," Kat said.
He was, actually, a very pretty animal...
Her knowledge of horses pretty much went draft horse, pony, mini horse, and 'normal' horse.
Vorpal appeared to fall firmly into the 'normal' horse category, but definitely one of the more aesthetically pleasing specimens.
He had a light build, with long, graceful legs and neck. His face was well-formed and slender, and his coat was a solid, glossy bay.
His dark brown mane was visibly well-kept, and that probably applied to his tail, too, even though she couldn't see it.
Vorpal's ears pricked, and he looked around at her for the first time, turning his head to the side to get a better view.
"Can I say hi?" She asked.
"I suppose," Riddle shrugged, folding his arms again. "When greeting a horse, you-- oh..."
Stepping carefully forward, Kat held out a closed fist, palm-side down.
Vorpal's ears pricked again, and he snuffled lightly at her knuckles, then bumped his velvety nose against them.
She laughed quietly, opening her hand and stroking him gently on the snout.
"That was very well done," Riddle said, a note of genuine surprise in his voice.
"Do you have any equestrian experience, Prefect?"
She shrugged.
"Yeah, actually-- I mean, I'm not an expert or anything, but I've been around horses... Like, I know the basics of riding, at least with a saddle and reins, and how to introduce myself without losing fingers. And let them know I'm coming in behind them without getting my head kicked off, if I have to."
Vorpal bobbed his head, pushing lightly against her hand.
"Yeah, hi, we're talking about you," she informed him, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Or-- well, kind of."
She heard Riddle chuckle quietly again, then he cleared his throat.
"Well? What did you want to speak to me about, Miss Prefect?"
...Oh boy, here we go.
Kat took a deep breath, blowing a strand of bangs out of her face as she moved from stroking Vorpal's nose to scratching his neck.
"Okay, first, um...."
She paused for a second, trying to get her thoughts in order before starting to speak.
"Look, I... I'm not gonna beat around the bush about this, okay? Don't mistake ANY of this for, like... Romantic interest. 'Cause, I'm telling you right now, it is NOT. I don't-- I mean, it's not a YOU thing, okay? Doesn't have anything to do with you personally. It's just---"
She trailed off for a second, grimacing.
"Well, it's... M-Me. I'm actually-- um, well, I'm... Gay? I... Prefer-- or no, not 'prefer'... I'm only into women. Plus, you're seventeen, and, like... A-At YOUR age, I think the biggest age difference should be, like, one year at the most. So... Yeah."
She risked a glance sideways at Riddle.
He blinked, eyes widening a little as he took the smallest of steps back.
"Oh," he said, and she could see that his face had gotten a little red.
"I-- I see... AHEM!"
He coughed into his fist again, then shook his head, folding his arms.
"Was there... Anything else? I presume that wasn't the only reason you came here..."
Kat laughed quietly, shaking her head.
"Nah, it-- it wasn't..."
Then the smile slipped off her face, and she felt the nervous fluttering start up just below her ribcage.
"Well-- it's just..."
Her hand slowed down, coming to a stop on Vorpal's neck.
"It's about.... What happened. Um-- at the duel. Or-- I guess, after that? Like... Like immediately after."
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Riddle go still.
Squaring her shoulders, she plunged on.
"Do you.... Know? Could you-- could you... tell? Somehow?"
They stood in silence for a few seconds.
Suddenly, Vorpal tossed his head, leaning into her hand and giving an irritated nicker.
"Oops-- sorry," she muttered, starting to scratch again.
"Could I tell.... What?" Riddle said slowly.
She still didn't look right at him, eyes vaguely unfocused on a patch of bay coat on Vorpal's neck.
"That I... Saw. I saw it."
"...How much did you see?" Riddle asked quietly, after another moment of silence.
"...All of it? I think?"
Kat shifted her weight from side to side, leaning her free arm on the gate of Vorpal's stall.
"I... Look, I didn't MEAN to, okay? I don't know why it happened- I... I'm really sorry."
There were a few more moments of awkward, painful silence that seemed to stretch on for an eternity.
"....I... See," Riddle murmured after a while. "I-- yes... The truth is, I.... Already had a-- that is to say, I..."
He paused again.
"...I had a feeling," he said eventually, almost under his breath.
This actually surprised her a little-- blinking, she turned to look at him.
"R-Really?"
Arms still folded, he was standing a few feet away, head turned to the side and definitely not looking at her.
As she watched, he nodded slowly, still not turning his head.
"....Yes," he confirmed slowly. "I-- when I... Regained consciousness, I had a... I remembered a few-- I mean... It wasn't-- very CLEAR, mind you, but I thought that-- um..."
He trailed off.
...More awkward silence.
Vorpal bobbed his head again, giving a soft, happy nicker and bumping his knees against the stall gate as Kat kept scratching his neck.
Now Riddle looked over, eyebrows raising.
They caught each other's gaze, blinking, then both laughed quietly, shaking their heads with wry grins.
"Yikes-- well... That's a little embarrassing," Kat muttered, finally able to speak now that the awkward silence had been pierced. "Um-- sorry for... Intruding? I guess?"
Riddle shook his head, laughing softly again.
"No, it-- it's quite alright... I'm sure you didn't mean to."
"Yeah," Kat sighed, leaning a little heavier on Vorpal's stall door and crossing her ankles. "I mean-- I don't even know HOW that happened, so..."
A slightly shorter pause this time.
"...What... WAS that?" She asked hesitantly, turning her head to look at him again.
"I mean-- d-do YOU know? I-- literally have no idea..."
Riddle shifted a little, looking uneasy.
"I... Don't," he admitted after a second. "I have a few theories... About what areas of magic may have been involved, possibly. But-- those are just theories, mind you, nothing concrete."
"Really?" Kat asked. "Um... Like what?"
"Well..."
Chewing his bottom lip, Riddle tilted his head back, looking up at the stables' ceiling.
"...My current hypothesis is that it-- involved some form of... Dream magic."
"...Dream magic?" She repeated, unable to quash a twinge of intrigue. "What's that?"
Riddle actually looked at her, giving another surprised blink.
"You... Don't know?"
"No," she admitted, shaking her head. "The truth is, I'm-- w-well... Did Crow-- the Headmaster, I mean-- tell you anything? Or... Maybe, did you hear anything from Ace or Deuce?"
"...Oh," Riddle murmured, eyebrows raising and looking even more surprised.
"Well-- yes, I- I did, but... That was... True? You... Really are from another world? My goodness..."
"Yeah," Kat sighed again, turning back to Vorpal and petting his nose again.
"Kinda unbelievable, huh? Trust me, I-- I'm just as surprised as you are... Probably more, to be honest."
She shook her head, giving a wry laugh.
"Anyway, um-- obviously, it has something to do with dreams, but... Besides that? What does it mean? If... You don't mind explaining?"
Riddle paused.
Glancing back, she saw that he was looking up at the ceiling again.
"Dream magic is," he said after a moment. "Old. Very, very old. Nearly all the mentions of it are from sources made a very, very long time ago... Even before the time of the Great Seven, in fact."
He paused, putting a hand to his chin.
"...And those sources are hardly fonts of knowledge themselves," he admitted after another moment of deep thought.
"Back in those days, most still viewed magic as something utterly foreign and unknowable... So no concrete facts are available. What IS there, however... Is the insistence that dream magic is very powerful... And very, very strange. Even by the standards of the time, much emphasis was placed on how mysterious and unknown it was. Honestly, I always regarded it as more of a myth than anything concrete... But-- well..."
He trailed off again.
"...Seriously?" Kat asked after a second. "That-- that kind of thing, it... Isn't something that just... I mean, there's NOTHING else that might explain why all that happened?"
Giving a measured, but slightly helpless, shrug, Riddle shook his head.
"No.... At least, not as far as I've ever heard of. The sentient mind is a very complicated thing, a-and... While some forms of what one might call 'psychic' abilities exist-- very minor telepathy, for example, or empathy-- psychic empathy, that is... The concept of.. Of sharing memories, o-or entering some form of joint trance... I-- that's the only possibility I could think of."
There was a slightly longer pause.
Kat sighed, standing up from her lean and turning around, leaning her back on Vorpal's stall
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