o children ✶ the ballad of songbirds and snakes

002 ⋆ caroline winters

She, Sejanus, and Coriolanus were all supposed to work on a history presentation together. Cariad rarely spoke with the latter before, only hearing good things from her fellow district-born. Coriolanus usually partnered with Clemensia or Io for school projects, but due to Clemensia's absence and Io abandoning him for her crush, he settled for the only pair without a third person. With the way his jaw tightened when the professor said Cariad's name (which he quickly replaced with a smile when their eyes met), she couldn't help but feel the slightest bit of offense by his presence.

But did she show it? No. Of course not. Cariad Landas was suspicious, yes, but Caroline Winters trusted wholeheartedly.

While tapping her pen on the table, a pair of hands clasp over her eyes. She lets out a squeal, but the librarian at the front desk hushed her. "Guess who," a voice like honey whispered.

"Hmm, Highbottom?" Cariad giggled.

The boy laughed melodically before removing his hands from her eyes. Dolion. She admired the curvature of his jawline as he placed his chin on her shoulder. "I think I'm a few inches taller," he joked, turning her eyes into crescents as she smiled. Dolion wrapped his strong arms around her and his lips found hers, soon traveling down to her chin, jaw, and neck. "What are you doing?" He rests his chin on her shoulder.

"Ohh, I'm just laying them out," Cariad answered, "admiring them."

"You're admiring Fling and Plinth?" Dolion scoffed while taking a picture of Dennis raising a glass of posca as he made a toast in the opera house. "Whatever do you need this for? He's not even your friend."

Cariad reached up to take it from him, but he extended his hand upward. "Dolly, I was admiring the shots," she explained sternly. "With Sejanus, I procrastinated on an assignment, and needed one more picture. He was right there. Remember when I kept asking you to be my subject, but you said you were too busy?" Dolion looked down in embarrassment, ears turning red. "For this one, Dennis and I were partnered for photography class. It's my best picture to date. Look how cinematic it is! The light from behind him creates a dramatic outline of his silhouette, and the shadow--"

"It's good," Dolion interrupted, his arm lowered. "But you took better ones. Like this one." He slid another picture in front of her, one of Lysistrata standing over the edge of the Corso's fountain, her arms spread out as she smiled with her eyes closed. Cariad poked her cheek with her tongue as she made another move to grab the picture of Dennis Fling, but he pulled his arm back again with a teasing smile.

"Give it back." He raised a brow. "Dolion, It's going into my portfolio or I won't get a grade. Give it back." The use of his first name and her assertiveness stunned him into place, allowing her to take the picture from his hand. Cariad quickly stacked the photographs in a neat pile, then put them aside at the corner of the desk.

"I'm sorry, beautiful. You should've said that, I would've understood." He buried his face further into the crook of her neck, and she let him while her hands found his hair, playing with the strands. "Lemme make it up to you. You have plans for the weekend? I was thinking of going out to Laurent's," he mumbled against her skin.

Cariad twiddled with the pen between her fingers. "I told you, I'm going to a birthday gala. You remember the Rings, right?" she reminded him, and had been since receiving the invitation. A playful pout formed on Dolion's lips, and she quickly placed a hand over his. "You're so forgetful! If you really don't want me to leave your side, why don't you join me as my plus one? They said I could bring one," she suggested. Lysistrata and Clemensia have pestered her about meeting Dolion, only seeing the older boy in passing when he dropped Cariad off to class.

"The only upperclassman in a room with a bunch of underclassmen?" Dolion asked rhetorically while taking the seat beside her. "No, thank you. But you go have fun, alright?"