All is Fair in War and Dragon Scales (UNREVISED)

The Vulture and his Raven

Instead of going back to the gala, Cailin and Finley make quick work back to Cailin's dorm room.

"Wait, why aren't we going back to gala?" Finley asks and Cailin takes a breath as he closes the door behind him.

"I might have told Liz that I found my soulmate and that it would never be her... then I ran out of the ballroom."

Finley blinks, eyes wide. "You said what?"

Cailin's cheeks flare pink and he looks over at his friend, wildly gesturing with his hands. "I panicked! She was saying horrible things about you, and I didn't want to dance with her anymore, and she didn't get it! I had to say something!"

Finley steps in closer, no change in his expression, which means he didn't listen to word Cailin just said. "You found your soulmate?"

Cailin sputters. "No! I lied! Of course I lied, aren't you listening to me!?"

Finley deflates. "Oh."

"Now I think I made things worse for myself... because now everybody is going to be waiting for me to say who the heck my soulmate is!"

Cailin begins to pace in front of the kitchen table, biting his nails and Finley sighs, coming over to the table to sit down, setting the invisible books down on the surface, taking his wand and tapping it along the books.

"Visilo."

The two books appear, shining under the kitchen light and Finley sets his wand back into his jacket pocket, looking back up to Cailin. "Well lets not worry about it right now, alright? We have bigger things to worry about, like sneaking out of the castle to find the Apothecary."

Cailin stops, slowly turning to Finley and an evil smile growing on his face. "Maybe we can lie?"

Finley knows Cailin didn't listen to a word he said, and sighs loudly. "Huh?" He asks lazily, and Cailin sits down in front of him.

"Maybe we can lie. I can just say you're my soulmate, and everybody would believe it! 'Childhood friends were destined to love each other from the start.' What do you think?"

Finley's face is the color of a red apple and he doesn't say anything for a second, before shaking his head rapidly and standing. "Absolutely not!" He shouts, grabbing the books on the kitchen table and making a beeline for Cailin's room, but Cailin sprints past him and covers the closed door with his body.

"Come on! It's not that bad of an idea!"

"Not bad?! Have you met the girls who go here? They will actually kill me this time around!"

Cailin hesitates, swallowing. "Think about it?"

Finley gives him a look. "Or I don't have to think about it, and you can just keep this fake 'soulmate' to yourself and say that you aren't making your move until later? You don't have to have to have one right this minute."

Cailin drops his arms, letting out a sigh. "Fine."

"Great. Now open the door so we can talk about tomorrow."

"Shouldn't we go and get Ella and Julian first?" Cailin asks as he opens his bedroom door, the dragon egg greeting them as they enter the room.

Finley hesitates as he sets the secret books on the dresser, taking his wand and throwing it aside on Cailin's bed, unbuttoning the jacket to set it aside as well, taking a seat on the edge of the double bed.

"We should make a plan first, then fill them in. Can you imagine trying to come up with a straight plan with Ella involved? Nothing will get done," Finley says with a roll of his eyes as he unties his shoes, stretching out on the bed and Cailin takes a seat on a pillow next to his dragon egg.