❝𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐎𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐀❞ ━ TREECH

12. afternoon sun

And with what has happened, it wouldn't surprise her if even Coriolanus struggled with the woman's riddles. He's trying to mask his feelings but at the end of the day, he's also just a traumatized student.

Lyssie nods even though she's not entirely convinced. "Maybe. She does tend to drag things out unnecessarily," she replies. She thinks for a moment. "I don't know, June. Maybe it's nothing, but I've got this strange feeling there's more to it."

"A gut feeling?" Junia swallows and Lyssie nods again. She doesn't want to alarm the other girl further but her gut has never failed her.

Maybe she's trying to push it away, too, but the more she thinks about the situation, she realizes Lyssie isn't wrong. It's suspicious that they haven't returned yet.

"I don't know," she then says, "it could be nothing but if it helps you, I think you should give her a call tonight. I think she'd be happy to know you're worried about her."

"We," Lyssie corrects her gently. "Sejanus asked about Coriolanus, too. And I can see it's bothering you as well."

"A little bit, yes. I didn't give it much thought but maybe you're right," Junia says. She leans back against the wall. "When you call her tonight, please let me know if something happened."

She must sound paranoid. She shakes her head. "We must be losing our minds, too," she mumbles, "I'm sure Clemmie is alright. And Coriolanus."

Lyssie is trying to convince herself of the same thing. Neither of them trust Dr. Gaul but honestly, who does? Well, Junia is sure her mother respects her and has to have some trust in her ability regarding the Games, but aside from that? Even she doesn't know. That woman's mind is an unknown area she really doesn't want to dive into.

"I think I'll stop at the Citadel before I head home," Lyssie says. "Are you and Cas coming along?"

Junia shakes her head. "We're heading to the zoo first. Cas and Max spent all evening baking cookies so he's really insisting we go there today," she explains, "if they don't let us in, we'll make them give them to the tributes at least."

That catches Lyssie's attention. "Cookies?" she questions and shoots her friend a wary look. "Doesn't he usually drink when he bakes? Is that even safe?"

"Well, Max was there. I guess that stopped him," she explains, "or maybe he knew it'd just make things worse."

She sighs and gives a subtle shake of the head. "Anyway, apparently it's a family recipe of Sheaf's. She told him all about it yesterday," she goes on to explain. "I think he needed a distraction anyway. We all did."

"I cried a lot," Lyssie confesses, "I can't believe they kept on showing it on TV, too. I had to leave the room because it just got too much."

Quietly, she adds, "I don't want to imagine being in Cas' shoes. It's horrific."

"It is," Junia mumurs. "If you'd like, you can accompany us to the zoo. I'm sure Jessup would appreciate the visit, too."

Lyssie frowns. "I probably should since I couldn't yesterday," she agrees. "If they let you in, please give me a call in the evening. I'd like to check up on Jessup. He was very quiet yesterday."

"Yeah, I don't think he's much of a talker. But I'm sure he'll appreciate knowing that you care," she says.

She's about to talk about Treech - anything to make things a bit more lighthearted - when the office's door opens and Cas comes out, Hippocrata Lunt behind him. The woman says something unintelligible and almost thrusts a paper into his hands, gives him a very careful onceover and waves the next student into her office.