Lunch with a paladin.

Ultimately, John couldn't get the answers he wanted out of Erica either. She had to report to Lord Brighton on their adventure and didn't want to keep their guildmaster waiting. He couldn't blame her. At least she left him a promise to get Moira to explain things, and, sure enough, his phone lit up as soon as class ended.

Moira B. (11:56): Courtyard five minutes

God, she really is an impatient princess.

The meeting killed any chances for John to search the school during lunch, which meant he'd need to stay late to finish his quest. Not ideal... the information he'd get had better be worth it. He pushed his way through the crowd and headed for the closest stairs, toggling Astral Observe periodically in case he spotted anything interesting.

He was swept up in the migration and deposited in the courtyard, where he looked around for Moira's red hair. It was easily recognizable in the mix of blondes, brunettes and raven-haired Academy students, off between the annex and gym. He started towards her, pushing past a dozen or so hungry students, and had just stumbled out into the open when he realized that Moira was talking to a shorter girl with blonde hair... Danielle. John considered turning back and rejoining the flow of lunch-goers, but the paladin had already noticed him and waved him over. He swallowed and started towards them.

To his surprise, Moira was smiling. Something had put her in a good mood, presumably whatever she'd been talking about with Danielle. He caught the tail end of their conversation.

"Good to hear, she should be fully recovered by tomorrow?" Moira asked.

"Physically, yes, but I'm concerned about... Newman," the blonde girl halted in the middle of her statement, giving him a stilted greeting. "My apologies for yesterday's incident, I've been informed of your circumstances," she looked over to Moira, "and recent allegiances" As she spoke, Danielle's expression remained impassive, and her voice barely changed in tone. It was almost robotic.

John took the opportunity to properly analyze the short girl with Observe

Tricia Gorbachev
Level 9 Scythian Healer
<Gorbachev Opekuny>
Relationship: -1

There were a lot of details he didn't recognize, the title 'Gorbachev Opekuny' for example. The fact it contained Tricia's last name couldn't be a coincidence, but aside from sounding Russian... he had no idea what it meant. Her class, and Erica's mentioning of her false name, implied that the girl worked for the Order as a healer, likely on contract as he was. All theoretically useful information, but not exactly helpful right now. The one detail that was useful was her relationship score.

-1 wasn't such a bad relationship score to have. It was better than -200. "Glad to hear it. Do you think you could... uh..." John struggled for words; 'not spy on my porn' came to mind, "stop doing the phone thing then?" Moira gave him a confused look, while Tricia's didn't change even a little bit. He sighed, "Yeah, thought so."

"My cautionary measures are simply to ensure my safety; I hold no animosity towards you." Despite the content of her words, there was a tension in the shorter girl's voice that he couldn't miss. She turned back to Moira, "I'll send you the rest of my analysis. Enjoy your lunch."

"Wait," John said, before she could leave. It wouldn't hurt to play nice, "It was a pleasure to properly meet you, Danielle," he offered a hand, emphasizing the fake name. Tricia flinched at the gesture, though it was so subtle that John wasn't sure he hadn't hallucinated it. A moment passed, and she shook it, staring at him with her unreadable expression.

"Likewise... John."

Moira looked between the two of them, "What, exactly, is going on with you two?"

It's called being polite. You should try it sometime.

"We are simply getting to know one another, as professionals," Tricia said, though she didn't look away from him. Her gaze was starting to make John uncomfortable, but at least her voice sounded more relaxed, "Although considering my line of work... perhaps it would be better if we did not?"

John stared at Tricia, had she just made a joke? There was the faintest shift on her lips that almost looked like a hint of a smile. Maybe she had a sense of humor somewhere beneath that inscrutable exterior.

"Now then, if you'll excuse me..." she nodded to them both, then walked off in the direction of the cafeteria. John watched her go, until Tricia's pale-blonde hair vanished into the crowd of hungry students. He had to admit the healer was an intriguing enigma, virtually impossible to read... but not truly emotionless. There had been cracks, just enough in her facade to show the Tricia Gorbachev that lay beneath 'Danielle Kislev'. Maybe, now that she wasn't treating him as a threat, he could get to know whoever that was? He'd be lying if he said he wasn't curious...

It didn't help that she was attractive; though Tricia wasn't as busty as Moira or Erica, she was cute in an odd way. Petite, that was the word. The mental comparisons reminded John that the red-headed paladin was standing a few feet away, with the trademark annoyance she seemed to constantly wear around him. "Right, so... shall we?" he asked awkwardly while gesturing in the direction of the cafeteria.

Moira's face twisted in a momentary flash of disgust, and John couldn't blame her. Food at Ashcroft Academy was overpriced and mediocre, if one was feeling generous with their definitions. Honestly, the only reason he ate it was a lack of other options. Without a driver's license, he couldn't go anywhere and be back in time for class. Wait. Moira had a bike!

He was about to ask her if they could use it to eat somewhere decent when she spoke. "I'll wait for you there, meet me once you've got your... food." She pointed at one of the outside tables, which lay in the shadow of the main building. Most students avoided them, either taking lunch inside the cafeteria or in the sunny courtyard, as the ones that Moira had indicated were a chilly place to eat, even in the middle of the summer. It was the perfect place to talk if you were worried about being overheard.

John sighed, "Yeah. Sure."

Several minutes later, he carried a tray of slightly-above garbage quality food out to the table. There was recognizable meat and actual fruit. He'd decided to splurge. Moira's lunch was considerably more extravagant than his, likely pulled out of her literal hammerspace. Where his 'food' could be barely qualified as such, hers was positively luxurious. There was a salad with what looked like freshly grilled shrimp...

He tried to ignore the disparity and pretend his lunch was half as good. It didn't work. Just to add insult to injury, Moira ate hers with a silver fork and knife, making John feel like a savage as he used his fingers to eat too-soft fries. Several minutes passed in silence, until Moira broke it.

"You had questions."

He nodded and swallowed a few more of the overly salted grease sticks that the school called 'fries', "Your dad said Erica was in charge of me, what did he mean?"

"It means that she's responsible for your mistakes, as well as your training," the paladin replied. "Erica is one of the Order's knights; she helps us deal with rogue mages and the messes they inevitably create," Moira paused to give John a look. He winced. It was painfully clear she was referring to him. "Her skills allow us to deal with threats too distant or numerous for a Warden to handle."

John considered the appellation, it fit.

"You saw that yourself," Moira continued, "with the abnormality from yesterday."

"Ok, what was up with that?" he asked. He was dying to finally get some answers.

Moira looked down at her lunch, a dusting of red on her cheeks, "We're... not sure." He hadn't been expecting that. "As best we can tell, you encountered a gateway into the Abyss itself. We don't know who opened it, how or why. It closed shortly after we lost contact with Erica... and our seer's visions have been unusually cryptic on the matter."

John's frustration was largely mollified by Moira's embarrassment, "Good, cause I can't do that kind of thing even if I wanted to."

"Next question," was all she seemed willing to say.

Another silence fell, during which John finished off the last of his fries. Moira continued to eat her salad with practiced elegance. Neither looked at one another until his curiosity overcame the awkward atmosphere, "Right, so, if Erica's some kind of monster exterminator... what does that make me?"

"Her replacement," the paladin said, a bit too casually.

Her... what?

John blinked in complete surprise and tried to put the idea together. Sure, he was working for the Order now... and it made sense that he'd be doing the same thing as his partner... but replacement?

The paladin looked up at him, surprised by the confusion evident on his face and set down her fork, "Erica told you that she's moving to Canada next weekend, right?"