Through Another's Eyes_Keeper of the Lost Cities

Post Midterm Party

Keefe woke early with a crick in his neck. After gathering his gifts and getting his hair ready for the day, Keefe tried to sneak to the leapmaster. He wanted to arrive at school by himself so he could enjoy the festivities without his parents looming over him, at least for a little while. Unfortunately, Lord Cassius was waiting for him.

"Don't even think about it." His arms were folded over his chest. "We are going as a family."

"Where's mom then?" Keefe asked. Lady Gisela was no where to be seen. Keefe wasn't a huge fan of his mother either but if she accompanied them, there was more of a chance that he could slip away when his parents were distracted with each other and the shared weight of their egos.

Lord Cassius shook his head. "She's not coming. She has some business to attend to." With that vague response, Lord Cassius grabbed Keefe's arm and pulled him under the crystals of the leapmaster.

"Foxfire!"

——————-

Foxfire was almost unrecognizable. Silver streamers wrapped every tree, every shrub, every tower—like the school had been toilet-papered with tinsel. Confetti and flowers covered the floor, and giant bubbles filled with prizes floated through the halls. Prodigies ignored their parents as they dashed around popping as many as they could.

Keefe welcomed the chaos. As soon as they stepped off the pad into the crowd, Lord Cassius stopped to greet some other self important, pompous, parent.  Keefe took advantage of his dad's distraction and slipped away behind two level threes whose arms were filled with boxes and headed off toward the atrium. 

When he reached the level two hallway, he made a beeline for Foster's locker, keeping an eye out for the mop of blonde hair.  When it was clear that there was no sign of the brown-eyed elf, Keefe pulled out his box of carefully wrapped mood candy and balanced it precariously on top of her already full thinking cap.  Keefe turned to leave but lunged back to catch the box as it fell from the stack.  

Well that's not going to work.  He thought.  

That was when he noticed that Foster's locker itself was slightly ajar.  He shook his head to himself at her forgetfulness and slipped the box into the locker before closing it with a soft click.  

Then Keefe was on his way to deliver the rest of his goodies.  

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Lord Cassius found him again in the level four hallway when Keefe was on his way back from dropping off Fitz's gift.  Keefe had sidled up to his best friend's locker, cutting the long line of giggling girls with crush cuffs, and dropped his gift on top.  With a sideways smirk that caused a lot of  swooning from the onlookers, he confidently retreated and smacked right into his dad.  

"Ugh! of course my son it the clumsy fool. Where have you been? I've been looking for you!"

Keefe seriously doubted that.  He was saved from having to answer by a scene that pulled his dad's focus from Keefe.

"Well, well, who do we have here?"

Keefe turned to see who Lord Cassius was talking to and found, to his chagrin, that it was Sophie Foster and a mentor Keefe didn't recognize.  This isn't gonna be good.  Keefe thought has his dad offered his cold smirk to the pair. 

"This must be the girl who was raised by humans," Lord Cassius said.  Sophie flinched.  Keefe felt her embarrassment.  

"How curious to find her in the Level Four wing, talking to Foxfire's most infamous Mentor."

"Infamous?" Sophie asked. She glanced at Keefe, but he was staring at the ground.  He kept wishing he'd manifested as a Vanisher so he could disappear.  Not being able to feel his father's sick glee from torturing the innocent girl would've been a bonus.