Supressing a yawn, Roni sits in the second row of the second auditorium, struggling to remain awake. Even on a good day, listening to Joriano Lorelock, the great professor of magotheory of Frenia, drone on about the various intricacies of magical interactions and the grave dangers of meddling with the principles of magic, would bore her half to death, and today is definitely not a good day indeed.

Lorelock, a portly man with a stubbly beard and a crown of grey hair, stands in front of his pupils, wearing an aging vest that once must have been very expensive underneath his open professors robe. His chalk-stained arms wave with more and more vigor as the aging man talks about some minor detail from the notes of his prepared lecture that caught his attention mid-sentence.

One would be challenged to find a person with less talent in lectures, Roni thinks, he doesn't even try to remain on topic anymore. Still, she tried to pay attention, as always. Lorelock was like a bloodhound in that way and would surely punish her if he caught on that she wasn't listening. If there was one thing the man loved more than prattling on about some inane detail of his thought process, it was lording his authority over those around him. He seems happy today, though, she realises, maybe I have some leeway to doze off a bit?

Once she is sure Lorelock is no longer looking in her direction, Roni sneaks a glance to her right, where Rafah sits, and a sliver of worry slithers into her mind. Rafah, her flatmate and ever since a fateful night last summer her partner, seems deep in thought. Normally, even though he seems to detest Lorelock, magical theory would highlight Rafahs day. She doesnt fully understand it herself, but for whatever reason he seems to thrive on the many different hypotheticals and concepts. When he's finished with his studies as a mage, he could surely become a professor himself, Roni decides. He even gives Lorelock some trouble with his questions.

In the end, Roni doesn't mind these differences in interests between the unlikely duo. Once she was done with Lorelocks current class, she would be free of the man and magotheory as a whole and could focus on her main subjects as an alchemist. Why they had to study theorems and such in the first place, she had never fully understood.

Rafah sits with his legs tucked under himself and grips his quill with so much force, he is bending it, the fingers white from the pressure. In a normal class, Rafah would have been glued to the topic at hand, instinctively grasping the meanings and concepts behind Lorelocks words and taking great delight in the implications he always seemed to find a bit faster than the others. Now though, his face is a stony facade etched with worry and his eyes seem hollow and unfocused, as if his mind is anywhere but in his seat.

As minutes pass, Roni watches her friend with increasing worry. Raf on the other hand takes no notice and continues destroying a perfectly good quill. After a while, Roni reaches out and puts her hand on his, pulling it over to herself. Rafah looks over and smiles briefly, the first for the entire duration of the lecture, but his other hand still grips the quill with just as much force. Slowly she begins massaging his fingers, reducing the tension and slowly slipping her fingers into his fist, until she can hold his hand underneath the table, away from Lorelocks prying eyes.

For some reason, she things the professor with dislike learning about their relationship. Lorelock had never openly said anything derogatory about the Kingdom of Jadira, from which Rafah hails, but to Roni the man seeps the same condescending air many of the bigots do, whcih seem to hate nothing more than one of their own being in love with an outsider.

After a while, Rafahs grip on her hand lessens and the quill in his other slowly rises again until Rafah can open his hand and let it drop onto the table. He leans back a bit and refocuses on the lecture, squeezing her hand three times, their secret signal for telling each other that things are or at least will be okay. Even his face loosens a bit.

His eyes remain clouded though and Roni realises that he is still thinking about whatever is bothering him, just hiding it better. Not here, she thinks, I'll have to speak with him about it though. If he is this upset, it is nothing to be ignored or forgotten.

After some more time, the bell rings outside the auditorium, signalling the end of the lecture. Roni lets go of Rafs hand, making the decision to wait until they are home. But he better not try to hide it then as well, she thinks before packing her belongings and rising from her seat.