“That will be eight pieces, please.”

Seks fumbled through his pockets as the train rumbled on. It was a surprisingly difficult act as he continued to familiarize himself with the sway of being on a box of metal and wood hurtling through the lands at speed. He missed the feeling of solid ground that stayed beneath his feet. A trait his fellow drakins found odd, given their ability for gliding.

“Here you go.” Seks handed the coins over the counter and picked up the two plates of sandwiches. “Thank you,” he gestured to the man behind before making his way back to his booth table.

The dining cabin had its furnitures and walls made of dark wood. A large lacquered bar was where he ordered the food from with shelves of glass bottles of drinks lining the back. Eight booths took up the rest of the corner spaces of the cabin, the backs of those seats were layered with cushioned red leather. The floor was carpeted with criss-crossing patterns of brown. The ceiling had strips of cryst lamps lining the side behind red tempered glass, giving the room a soft summer glow.

He set the plates of food down on the table. “Here you go, ladies.” He took his seat opposite Shimona and beside Trini while admiring the space. “This place is nice, if not too swish.”

Shimona took a large bite out of her food and attempted to speak through chewing. “Shish tshoo basht shis insh sher rirrle.”

“What?” he asked.

Trini translated, “She said, 'It's too bad it's in the middle'. I'm guessing she means the middle of the train.”

“Ah, yes. That is rather unfortunate. Coming to-and-fro is... not enjoyable,” he replied.

With the dining cabin set in the middle of the train, they had to pass by both Class A and B's cabins to get there. It was not so much a need for them to go to the dining cabin since the food cart would travel up and down the train at meal times, but rather a curiosity to explore and a boredom from being cooped up in the same space for hours. Still, the thoughts of their schoolmates staring variedly at them as they pass was not a comfortable idea.

“Gear them!” Trini exclaimed. “We don't have to care about what they think of us. Why should we? We're not that different. We're all students. We're all Spellblades.”

Mouth still filled with food, Shimona raised a silent arm in cheers.

He loved that attitude about Trini. It did not matter what the world saw her as. To her, she was simply Trini Alquin. Whatever that meant was up to her to decide and she did not take kindly to anyone who said otherwise.

Outside their north facing window, the grassy plains of Aleynonlia rolled on by. The train tracks were built atop brick columns to stop most wild animals from trampling the line. The height gave them a good view of the distant where they watched a herd of wild gruffloo moving across the land.

Shimona finally swallowed her food. “Hey, do those gruffloo seem odd to you?”

“No. They look fine to me.” Trini leaned into the window. “Wait... actually...”

Seks was not near the windows so he simply kept to himself as he watched the girls investigate the outside. Suddenly, a plate with a slice of pie slipped onto the table and a figure moved into the seat beside Shimona.

“Well, well,” Trini took her eyes off the gruffloo and voiced. “If it isn't Nossaral Unn, gracing us with his presence. What's with this rare vote of confidence we're getting from Class C's number One loner?”

“Don't flatter yourself, Alquin,” Nos replied coldly as his fork stabbed into the pie. “There's just not enough seats to go around.”

Trini continued, “I'm surprised you weren't stabbed by the other classes on the way here with that attitude.”

“It's not like the rest of you are exactly peerless reviews of diplomacy yourselves.”

“Touché.” Trini replied.

“Still,” Nos continued, cutting into his food. “It's really odd just how much dislike your class is getting from the others.”

Shimona quickly corrected, “Our class.”

“Sure. Whatever floats your boats.”

“It's just the expectations,” Seks explained. “Everyone is expecting us Spellblades to be the next generation of defenders. That idea translates differently for different people.”

“So to some, being a Spellblade equates to being jerks?” he queried somewhat sceptically.

“I don't think so,” Seks attempted to dispel the misinformation. “I think it's just the standards set for Spellblades are high. We have responsibilities riding on ours shoulders, so perhaps they don't think we're qualified to be Spellblades because of our scores. It's likely they simply want what's best for the name.”

“Oh, babe,” Trini patted him on his head. “That's really cute that you think their intentions are that pure.”

Nos added, “Naive, almost.”

Shimona chimed in, “I think it suits you. We can't all be Mister Scowl and Grumpy over here.” She thumbed in Nos's direction.

“I'll take that as a compliment.”

“It really isn't.”

The original trio continued the conversation as Nos continued eating his pie in silence. Just as the latter finished his food, a fellow female hume student walked up to their table.

“Nossaral Unn?” she asked, adjusting her horn-rimmed glasses as she did so.

“Yeah?” he replied.

“Hey!” Trini chimed up. “Pip! How are you? Class B ain't treating you bad, are they?”

“I'm doing fine,” Pipquet Chevlier replied with a genuine smile. “It took some getting used to but the classes aren't anything special.”

Nos raised a brow questioningly. “Aren't you the girl who left Class C last year?”

“Yes,” she bowed formally. “Pipquet Chevlier. It's a pleasure to formally meet you, Nossaral Unn.”

“Is there a reason to be this formal?” Nos asked.

Seks replied, “That's just how she is.”

Shimona got to her feet and leaned over Nos to hug her former classmate. “Oh, Pippy! We missed you so much! Nossy here has been such a downer.”

“Hey!” Nos pushed the two girls apart as Pip laughed.

Pip affectionately answered, “I missed you too, Shimona.”

Nos cleared his throat. “You were looking for me?”

“Ah, yes. Rehiy wanted to see you for the um... thing you did earlier.”

Nos sighed and got to his feet. He swiped his cleared plate off the table to return to the counter and headed for the direction of the front of the train, all done without another word. Pip did not follow and instead simply watched him walk away.

“Pip,” Seks called and she turned. “What did Nos do?”

The girl sat down across him in Nos's seat. She adjusted her glasses habitually. “He um... he punched Jules when he walked through our cabin earlier.”

“That does not sound like Nos,” he replied.

Trini scoffed. “Funny. That sounds just like him to me, actually.”

“Come on, Tricksy,” Shimona said. “Nos is cold, but he's not the kind of person to just go around hitting people.”

“Shimona's right,” Pip replied. “It's actually mostly Jules's fault, I think. Seems like Jules was trying to trip him when he came by and he just... it looked to me like combat reactions, you know? Instinctual.”

“I can't understand,” Trini said. “How do you stand being in the same class as these people?”

“They're honestly not terrible people,” Pip defended. “It's just... they have this conception that Spellblades have to be the peak of mortality. And our test grades and class assignment's are just an easy way to determine that.”

Trini scowled. “Still, no reason to be so mean to us all the time. And honestly, what are they? Five? It's really childish, you know. This 'I'm better than you' bullshit.”

“But I can see why they would think that,” Seks replied. “We all carry the burden of continuing the name of Spellblades of yore. They were the first line of defence throughout both wars. There's a good chance it will be our turn if we get attacked again.”

Trini pouted and turned away from the conversation. He knew she did not like the idea of being burdened with expectations and weight of things she did not choose. He thought that it was precisely because of that personality of hers that fell in love with her, and likely vice versa. They were polar opposites. One who wished to escape her legacy but can't, and another who could escape his but chose not to. They saw in each other a version of themselves.

He took her hand in his and though she did not turn back to look his way, she tightened her grip as if looking for support.

“Listen,” Pip began, her voice dipping low. “There's rumours going around school that some of us have gotten epitaphs.”

The three turned to her, surprised. They had been careful with the secret, keeping it only amongst themselves, families, and people of import. They had expected the news to spread eventually, but not before the tourney ended.

Pip caught their glare and nodded understandingly. “Who is it?”

They each pointed to themselves.

“Three.”

“Six”

“Eight.”

Pip let out a withheld breath. “So it's true? And the weird naming as well?”

He asked, “Who told you all this?”

“They're just rumours. Words floating around the school.”

Shimona chimed in, “Does anyone else knows? Is this why people have been nicer to us?”

“No. Like I said, it's mostly rumours. Nobody even have any inklings it's you guys. Right now they are throwing caution to it more likely being the top students of Class A. Everyone's still shaken about the things that happened to you publicly recently. Quinton's fight with Dolf. Shichi's kidnapping. You and Four-Chan's run in with unspawns.” Pip leaned her head and peeked up and down the corridor, checking the coast before continuing, “But it was the unspawn thing that got me thinking that sometime more was happening with you guys. It was just too... coincidental. And you know what Rehiy always says...”

He finished for her, “There're no such things as coincidences.”

Pip nodded. Then, her voice lowered even further as she leaned closer to everyone. “Do I have one?”

Trini shook her head. “No. you're in the clear.”

They could visibly see Pip breathe a sigh of relief, her shoulders relaxing.

Pip continued questioning, “And the rest? Nossaral?”

“We all have one,” Shimona answered. “Zero to Thirteen.”

“That makes no sense,” Pip piped, her interest piqued. “Why Nossaral? Why not me? And why numbers? Has that ever happened before?”

Shimona tried to calm her down. “Pippy, relax. We've asked all those questions already. We're honestly not any further than we were on day one.”

“Look, Pip,” Seks said. “You need to keep this a secret.”

“Of course!” she nodded vigorously. “Look, I don't care if I'm in another class. You're all still my friends. I have your backs. If you need me at any time at all, just let me know and I'll come running.”

They smiled at her and she grinned back. They continued their conversation, though leaving the tracks of epitaphs behind. When it was time for Pip to leave, she got to her feet and bowed her farewell.

“You know...” She took a double-take just as she was about to depart. “About your... numbers. They're abnormal, right? So maybe you should look at it through a distorted lens. It has never happened before so maybe the reason it did now is something new as well. Something that broke the rules.”

Seks had never thought of it that way before. They had been trying to solve the mystery of their epitaphs by applying the rules they know for precognitions to work. But perhaps a unique case requires extraordinary circumstances. He noted to himself to tell Sik Rehiy about the idea later. However, with Pip's contribution, something else began nagging at the back of his mind.

He looked out the window and even though he could not see the herd from where he sat, he muttered to himself, “Something's odd about the gruffloo...”