Episode 4

> Anais has noticed you.
>
> The Mother to Aurelius E. Otho, **Session 4**

> We all got our trauma.
>
> Xanthus Numicius, **Session 4**

SHORT SUMMARY

## Synopsis

Mouser apologizes again to Xanthus, telling him he wouldn’t have done it if he knew and reminding him that he owes him a favour. He escorts him back to lunch. Tacitus asks Xanthus if he is okay. Nadya makes Xanthus a tea for a weak stomach. Mother Drusilla gives the party a run down on how the classes are structured. We have a class in the morning and free time or an elective in the afternoon most days. We get to choose an elective: languages, weaving/crafting, cooking, history/politics/geography, math, leadership course, outside ed, reading and writing for those who can't.

Nadya and Aurelius choose History/Politics/Geography, Caeso goes with the Leadership course, Agrippa and Julius have to take writing and reading and Xanthus takes Outside Ed. This afternoon we continue with combat class. We are instructed to wait quietly in the combat room for Solis to arrive. Ashlinn talks and has to run laps with her brother and Ocatavia, whom she talked to. Solis hates teaching and he wants to start with fights. He asks if anyone wants to fight him. Petra volunteers and loses, she gets knocked out. Next is Agrippa volunteering to fight. Agrippa loses but he doesn’t get knocked out. Solis seems much more impressed by Agrippa than he did with Petra. Caeso goes next and does a great job. When he draws blood on his teacher, suddenly Solis cuts Caeso’s arm off. One of the attending hands proclaims that this has happened before and Caeso gets carried away with his arm towards the Weaver. After that Solis pairs people off to fight. Agrippa and Seadancer fight. Aurelius fights Bianca and loses. Xanthus fights Lynne. Nadya fights Whispcatcher. As Caeso comes to consciousness again he is greeted by Aalea, meeting the weaver only in brief glimpses while she works on his arm. Caeso joins dinner with his arm reattached and sore. He asks Xanthus about what happened to him this morning, but Xanthus brushes it off. Bianca tries to flirt with Caeso. After that they talk about the Weaver a bit. Weavers function as very expensive healers that have the ability to shape the human flesh for the price of having something done on their own flesh. During dinner Aalea and Solis fight about what happened in his class and we get the sense that this is not their first argument about this sort of thing. Nadya asks her favourite gossipy hand Peck about some update on the different dynamics of the teachers. According to Peck, Aalea and Solis regularly clash against each other, as do Spiderkiller and Mouser, as well as everyone with Mother Drusilla. Peck asks about the acolytes, who have fallen from grace. Petra says Bianca and Nadya mentions Octavia. Peck also asks what it is about Mouser that he always seems to get it on with someone.

After leaving dinner, Aurelius stops Nadya and asks what happened last night and if Caeso murdered Leo. She tells him that she can’t say exactly what happened but that she vouches for Caeso and that he wouldn’t have done it. While Aurelius continues reading about the Numicius book, he finds out about Xanthus’ grandparents and his father being less successful in the senate while being the oldest. Xanthus sneaks out to meet Mouser and asks him if he can speak to Lord Cassius. He has a brief conversation with him about being Darkin, the lack of knowledge Xanthus has about where his abilities come from, and that Lord Cassius hasn’t met many Darkin, despite being several hundreds of years old. Aurelius has a dream of floating in the night sky, where he is greeted by Niah, the Mother, she tells him that she speaks for her son, that Anais has noticed his devotion and appreciates it. The Mother calls him a prophet, which marks the first time Aurelius has been referred to as such.