Rebels and Witches; arriving at the Magic School

Though some people would feel guilty and call Raghnall back and have a real talk Amy didn't. She did feel slightly guilty, but she was too tired to really put a lot of thought in it. All she was certain of was that he had been the one who had left her and though it was sweet he had been looking for her she wasn't just going to take him back. She gave Rain a few taps on the neck before getting out of his stable and going back to her room and her bed, falling back asleep shortly after her head hit the pillow.

Meanwhile, Raghnall was not so forgiving. In his opinion, Amy had left him behind; speaking of Jack having to grow balls and own up, and then deciding not to be bothered by the war whenever it didn't suit her. And getting mad at him for it too then! Bitch.

This wasn't always his opinion about the matter mind you, but surely when he was angry it was what he thought. And he couldn't stand it either that Amy seemed in no way affected by seeing him. Did she not care about him at all!?

He walked in and back outside of the Magic School, sitting in the cold snow for over an hour. In the mean time, the snow around him had completely melted, and only when it started to freeze up again - this was when the sun was already peeking over the mountain tops - did he decide to head back inside. While there he spoke to no one, and made no eye-contact. He just marched towards his bed and lay down, not intending to get out for anything or anyone anytime soon.

The next morning Amy learned from Justine that the 'huge meeting' that she had been anticipating had already happened and that she had missed it. Though judging from the summary Justine gave her Amy decided she hadn't missed anything. Except that it meant that if Raghnall still wanted to speak to her it would be more difficult for him to find her.

It wasn't until after her classes had ended that she had time again to think about it. Admittedly she hadn't been looking for him, but she had noticed that Raghnall had been nowhere around. Normally she would go to the library to do her homework, but now she felt like she should initiate the talk with Raghnall. Going on a lim she decided to first check the room where he had stayed when he had been at the school the first time. So taking a deep breath she knocked on the door and hoped that whoever opened could at the very least give her a clue of where he was if he wasn't there.

Good thing for Amy, she'd actually come to the right place immediatly. He didn't at first intend to sleep in his old bedroom, but in the time the rooms were devided the night before, he'd been busy looking for Amy.
When he was finally ready for bed, most of the rooms were already taken, and he was in too foul a mood to patiently look for an unasigned room. So instead he just went for his old bedroom, hoping it hadn't been given to someone else yet. Fortunatly it hadn't, and so this was where he'd rested his weary head.

By the time Amy knocked, he'd only just woken up. He'd fallen asleep in his clothes, which consisted of an improvized combination between his old clothes, some soldier clothes from the rebel camp, and some random other pieces of clothing they had lying around there*.

Raghnall's clothes were quite smelly, as was he himself in fact he noticed as he sniffed his woft of man-odeur. So, one very nessecairy shower later, he returned to his room and went looking for his old student uniform. He'd just put on his pants when Amy knocked.

"O, hold on!" he replied in a loud voice, "I'm not dressed!" And as he quickly put on his shirt and hastily buttoned it, he walked to the door and wondered who it could be. He was honestly not expecting Amy, partially because he didn't expect her to look for him and partially because he didn't expect her to look for him here. He opened the door, upon which a looked surprised to see her.

"Ow... hi," he said, his tone of voice making it clear he wasn't expecting her.


* The rebel camp had been traveling around for a long time by now, without any steady basis, as did most of the people who had joined them at a later moment. As a result, most of the clothes they had between them where damaged and tattered, and fixed up as good and as bad as possible, with anything and everything that might work. Hence why Raghnall's coat had been fixed up with an extremely colorful piece of cloth (previously a scarf, I suspect) that he considered looked 'fabulous', and which the others were too kind to comment on honestly.

Not knowing any of the white magic time schedules Amy was slightly worried that the door might be opened by a guy that would just not like her for not doing exclusively white magic. She was surprised when she actually heard Raghnall's voice calling out for her to hold on. She was also glad that she had found him this easily and hoped that thing wouldn't get ugly...
When the door opened, she smiled a little, though it was clear she was suddenly uncomfortable.
"Hi..." she said, her smile slightly smaller but still there, "I thought... that perhaps we could talk..."
It wasn't so much that she really knew what to say to him, but she hoped that he would take it as to continue with what he wanted to say in the early morning.

"Ow..." Raghnall said slowly, "right."
He finished up putting on his school uniform, quite quickly too, and then gestured her to come in.

He looked at her for a moment, a little awkward, then aksed; "you.. what did you want to talk about?"

Amy was glad that Raghnall didn't send her away, but she was a little awkward being in his room. Not so much because it was his room, more because of with whom he shared the room with. She bit her lower lip when he asked her what she wanted to talk about. To buy herself a bit more time she stalled the moment of answering by walking over to an empty chair and taking a seat upon it.
"Well... I want to apalogize for kinda bitchy attitude this morning. I just really don't function well when I get awakened before it's time to wake up." Suddenly she remembered her 'heart to heart' with Sir Axel who had told her that for every apology of what she had done wrong she had immediately given an excuse for her behaviour. It stung a little to know she was doing it again, even though she wasn't doing it to excuse her behavious, just trying to explain the reason behind it.
"So sorry for that and I do think it sweet that you where looking for me for four hours. But what was it you wanted to talk about?"

Raghnall smiled, a little embaressed; "o no.. that was my bad. I was just so eager to see you again, I forgot about the time and... well, everything really."
Still, his smile showed he was relieved that Amy apologized; if anything it made him feel more understood and appreciated.

He sat down on the bed and tapped on the spot next to him invitingly. Then he looked down again for a moment and told her: "I didn't really want to talk about anything serious anyway, last night. I just wanted to ask how you were, and such. Well, for a starter. Maybe tell you what's been going on with the rebels... I thought you'd maybe want to know."

Amy was glad that Raghnall sort of apologized as well for what had happened. Her smile increased a little as well because of that, feeling a little more comfortable as well. She eyed the spot on the bed besides him for a hessitant moment before getting up and sitting there. Though a little farther away then she would have if they hadn't been seperated because of the rebellion.
"I'm fine, I'm learning a lot..." her mind wondered to the discovery of her being related to Maudre, "So how are you?"

Raghnall smiled at that last, superficially though. "I see," he mused slowly, "that's nice."

Then Amy aksed about him, and he replied; "ow alright, you know... doing the usual. Preparing for war and whatnot."

He signed for a moment, having hoped this conversation would carry on more casually. Then he just sighed, letting of some steam, and asked; "you probably already know this but... how about us?"
He hessitated for a moment, then added: "I'd twist and turn around it for several more moments, but I've woken up too recently to have that kind of dicretecy."

Amy took a deep breath when Raghnall answered that preparing for war was an usual thing. She stared into space, though not spacing out, just not really wanting to look him in the face. She had know the question to be coming, the question about their relationship, or in her opinion lack of it. And to be honest she was glad that he brought it up so directly, it definately beated circling around it awkwardly with small talk.
"I think our choices where clear." she said in a matter of fact voice with a blank expression still staring off in space, "You didn't felt you belonged here so you left for the swamps and after that the rebellion. While I stayed here because this is where I need to be."

Raghnall looked disappointed at her awnser; "that's what happened. I know what happened," he then insisted, "I was there!"

He turned to Amy a bit more, smiled at her as he took her hand and asked; "but we're together here, now, aren't we? So that could all be in the past, if we chose it to be?"

Amy didn't react at the first 'outburst', still staring off into space. She redirected her gaze to Raghnall's hand holding hers when he asked if the past could be the past if they choose it to be like that.
"I'm sorry," she answered feeling a little guilty, "I don't work like that. I can't just forget things like that and I thought you knew me well enough to not ask it of me. If you want us to be back together... Then you'll have to make me believe that you truely care for me."

Oddly enough Amy's reply - which most people would consider a negative respons, I would think - appeared like good news to Raghnall. In his defense, all he really heard was 'you haven't yet competely ruined it'.

He smiled at her hopefully and cheerfully, and nodded understandingly. "Amy," he said, "I wouldn't have it any other way." And implied in those words, and added mentally to that; 'I wouldn't have you any way'.

"I just hope that the camp will be staying here for long enough for me to do that," he then mused, his spirits dampening a bit. Now he really wished he'd attended the informative meeting as well; surely that'd been discussed there. "You wouldn't happen to have any idea how long the rebels will be staying here?" he asked, feeling a little silly for not knowing.

Amy couldn't help but smile a little when Raghnall told her he didn't wanted it any other way. It was a good first step into showing her that he really cared for her. Mainly because it showed that he actually knew her well enough to know that she doesn't forgive just so easily. But then he all but ruined that seconds after, he still choose the rebel camp over her. Her smile was gone and she pulled her hand out of his, folding them on her lap and looking into the distance again.
"All I know is that they are here," she answered, "I don't know in which rooms they are, what the plans surrounding them are, nore when you will leave."

Raghnall looked at her a little confused at first, but then just grinned at what she had to say, understanding now why she was upset.

"I can't believe you're still angry about that," he sighed. "What is the problem exactly? That I chose the war over you? Well, you chose magic over me. How do you have the right to blame me, exactly?"

Amy didn't react immediately, she first took a deep breath and let it out.
"I didn't walk out on you," she answered, "and my magic is pretty much who I am. This school is where I learn more about myself, so much more... Maudre is really great."
Her eyes turned to her hands folded on her lap, considering telling him that Maudre was her great times something aunt. That magic ran in her family and that her ancestors had also attended this school and that her staff was actually a heirloom. But she didn't really know how to bring all that out just like that. Only Maudre and Rain, of course, knew all those things making it all feel private.

Raghnall just sighed; "how can you be so cruel? Magic is who you are, you say... but this is who I am, someone who fights for justice. How do you justify it being alright when you do it, and it being betrayel when I do it? Because I choose too? Well yes, I choose to.. I choose to fight for the life I was never granted, and for my parents, and for everyone like me who's lost life because of this insane rule we suffer under. How is your motive so much better than mine!?"

Amy couldn't help but glare a little into the distance now that Raghnall had called her cruel. She took a deep breath again, not wanting to loose her temper.
"I can't fight without my magic," she answered, "if I hadn't stayed I would not know how to summon creatures. I would not know more about my staff. I wouldn't know more about my family and I wouldn't have... matured... in some ways... I learn so much here... Like for instance that if Maudre and I can find out how to summon those shadow wolf beings I can control and command them with my staff."
She hoped that it was clear enough for Raghnall that she hadn't completely backed out of the war. She wasn't really planning yet on actually joining, but she hadn't ruled it out yet either.

Raghnall listened to Amy silently, then sighed and turned his head away. Finally he looked back at her with a weak smile; "I'm glad you're happy here..."

It seemed like a bit of a pointless thing to say, he realized, but he really just didn't know what else he could do. It seemed Amy had really found her place here... How could he not be happy for her for that?
But on the other hand, he didn't think that his place was here... So was he now suppose to realize that their place wasn't together? That seemed like a too unfortunate conclusion to have to make.

"Well," he finally said, a small smile still on his face, "I'm sorry for what I just said. I understand where you're coming from, I guess."

Amy could hear that Raghnall wasn't all that enthusiastic about her wanting to be here. But she was glad that he accepted it in a way. She took his hand in hers and gave it a small squeeze, giving him a small smile as well.
"Thanks," she said, "and don't get me wrong I still very much want to walk up to the king and shoot him at point blank range. But I'm trying to be less impulsive, something Rose and Joyce and Maudre are helping with me. And I want you to keep this to yourself, but Maudre is my great times something aunt."

Raghnall grinned when he heard that Amy was trying to be less impulsive. "Aw," he said in a fake-moaning voice, giving her hand a squeeze back, "but I like your impulsiveness." But then his expression turned more serious, and his grin turned into a smile, as he said; "no seriously though, that's really good of you. Very mature. But then Amy went on about shooting the King at point blank range and he couldn't fight off a laugh. He put an arm around her, pressed her against him sideways, and mused cheerfully; "that's my girl."

Then she told him about Maudre. His eyes grew in surprise; "you're kidding? O waow... is-?" he hessitated to go on, but then decided to anyway, though in a more careful tone; "is that why she's been so nice to you?"

Amy smiled when Raghnall said that it was very mature of her that she tried to be less impulsive and couldn't help a chuckle when he pulled her against him and said 'that's my girl'. It reminded her a little of how her father used to do that when she was younger, but not too much to make the moment awkward. It was easy for her to remember why she and Raghnall had been a couple with his arm around her and resting her head on his shoulder. She smiled faintly when he asked one of the first things that had popped up in her head when she had discovered the news.
"No," she answered, her voice betraying that she was very content at the moment, "we found out about the same time. I guess she's just nice to me because she likes me, most of the time, and I like her, most of the time."

Raghnall chuckled when Amy said that she and Maudre liked each other most of the time. "Liking each other most of the time," he laughed, "just like real family!"

Then as his laughter died out, he also realized how happy he was sitting there like this. He leaned his head on hers a little, then automatically turned his head to place a kiss on her hair. Then he sighed, happily this time, and loosened the grip of his arm around her a little.

As he leaned just a little bit away from her, he took in a deep breath and exhaled. Meanwhile, with his free hand he cooled parts of the air in front of him, so that when he breathed out, a condensed heart formed mid-air in front of them. It only lasted for a second or two.

Amy smiled and blushed a little at the condensened heart. She had been slightly worried that she had done something wrong when he leaned away from her a bit. She gave him a slight peck on the cheek before resting her head on his shoulder again and closed her eyes.
"I'm glad you're back," she said in barely more then a whisper, "I missed you."