The Dragon Stone ↣ Riven ↢

04: Are You High Right Now?

''My eyes are the color of red''

After trying to cheer Bloom up, the rest of the day had went by quickly and Rose decided to head to the library after dinner. Even though her lessons went fine today, she still felt the need to obtain some more information about fire magic. If what Bloom had said was true, a little history lesson couldn't hurt.

As she reached the library, she was met by a smiling miss Barbatea who helped her find the books she needed.

Rose had always been interested in the history of fire magic, and the hours passed by as she read her way through the books. She was so invested in the material that the sound of her phone going off startled her. It was Terra.

'Rose, finally.', she could hear a sigh of relief escaping Terra's lips. 'Where are you? We've been texting you, but you never responded.'

'Oh gosh, I'm sorry, I'm at the library.', Rose rushed out, while checking the messages on her phone. Terra was right, they had sent her a bunch of texts. She also noticed it was getting late and that it was really time for her to leave the library. 'Thanks for checking up on me. I'll gather my stuff and then I'll head back to the dorm.', Rose said before they quickly exchanged goodbyes and ended the phone call.

She quickly shoved her stuff in her bag and grabbed her jacket before making her way over towards the exit.

Since she had been inside most of the day, she decided to take the path leading through the courtyard and as she got outside, she took a deep breath of fresh air.

It was already dark, and the air felt crisp against her face. Even though summer had ended, the weather was still nice for this time of the year, and she enjoyed the gentle breeze across her skin.

While walking back, she took the time to admire the school building again. It looked even more beautiful in the evening as the warm glow of the lights inside shone through the windows. It gave her a sense of safety.

The same torches as seen in the great hall were spread out through the courtyard, lighting up the paths. While it was evening, the bundles of light were dimmed, but the paths were lit up just enough for Rose to see where she was going.

As she neared the part of the castle in which the dorms were located, she spotted a figure standing outside. She recognised him by his silhouette, it was Riven. She contemplated whether or not to walk by him as if she hadn't seen him, but thinking back to their encounter at lunch, she did feel the need to find out if he was angry with her.

She picked up her pace while heading into his direction, afraid that she might change her mind if she didn't get there fast enough.

Before she reached him, she could tell that he had noticed her as his eyes seemed to follow her steps. His features were soft, no signs of anger, so Rose decided to go for it.

'Hi!', she greeted as she reached him.

He looked her up and down, taking in her appearance, again, but didn't respond. As awkward as it felt, Rose decided on another attempt to make conversation.

'You know, it's rude to eye someone up and down like that.', She remarked, earning a light chuckle from Riven.

'You think that's rude?', he started, 'I think it's rude to ruin someone's lunch. Have you come to bring me another sandwich?'

By the smirk on his face, Rose could tell he was being playful, and she laughed in response.

'I'm sorry to disappoint you but the cafeteria was all out.'

'Mhm, yes, I'm sure they were.', he said, joining her sarcasm.

As she looked at him closer, she could notice something was off about him and she squinted her eyes to get a better look at him.