Aegis waited a full minute after Sylceris left before she stepped out from behind the corner and walked up to the study group like nothing had happened.
"Hey," she said, dropping into the open seat next to Ellis. "Sorry I'm late. Got held up."
"Lady Starcaller!" Miheyra looked up from her notes, copper braids swinging. "We were just talking about the new Courtly Arts assignment. Professor Loralei wants us to—"
"Yeah, yeah, we'll get to that." Aegis waved a hand and looked at Tam. "So, I saw the new girl talking to you on my way over. What was that about?"
Tam blinked.
"Oh. Sylceris?"
"That's the one."
"She was, um..." Tam's quiet voice got even quieter, which Aegis hadn't thought was possible. "She was mostly asking about you, actually."
[... Huh?]
"About me?"
"Mhm. Like, what you were like. How you treated us. How often you helped us out and stuff." Tam shrugged.
Aegis kept her expression neutral, but her brain was already chewing on that.
