Seth and the Prometheus Guild

P.E.

"You have a tattoo?"

Seth very briefly looked up from the strange glibber in his cup, to focus on Mary Ann, who was reaching towards him.

"Neat," the black-haired girl said. Mary-Ann had introduced her as Himiko and had also told him the name of Mouse-Girl, though Seth had forgotten it already.

Seth was still keeping an eye on Mary Ann, ready to snatch her hand away from his neck if she made a hostile motion. But she simply pushed his thick braid aside, declaring: "Right here. It says MC0013. What does it mean?"

Seth didn't know what a tattoo was, and he also didn't know what MC0013 could be. So he simply shook his head, redirecting his attention to the 'meal' in front of him. He still hadn't decided if he wanted to brave it or simply go hungry for the rest of the day.

His plan to avoid the Hall of Horrors, a.k.a the cafeteria, had failed in a spectacular fashion on his first day. After Mr. Lennox' class, which had basically consisted of the annoying man repeating what Kaya had already told them in a much more elaborate and detailed fashion, Mary Ann had walked over to his desk. Either because she still hoped for some more extra credit - whatever that was - or because she felt somehow responsible for him, she had told Seth that he should tag along with her and her friends. At first he had wanted to decline, but he remembered that the girl seemed to be reporting to Francesca. Francesca on the other hand would be reporting to The Director. So he ended up among the crowd of hungry humans shoving all kinds of things down their throats, as if they had been starved for months on end.

"Did it hurt?" Mary Ann asked.

Seth guessed that she was referring to the mysterious 'tattoo'. It was probably something the Whitecloaks did to him, and while his body often ached quite terribly after he woke up, he was never awake for the actual operations. So he simply shook his head no.

"Let me see." Himiko planted both her hands on the table, leaning forward to look at his neck. The slight vibration as her hands slapped the plastic tabletop made the green slime in Seth's cup shake.

He almost gagged.

As Mary Ann and Himiko were still cooing over his neck, brushing strands of his hair aside and carefully touching his skin, Seth directed his attention at Mouse. She was shyly watching the three of them, but didn't make any motion to join the other two girls. Instead, she was spooning her own green glibber, one tiny amount at a time.

Feeling Seth's gaze she blushed, before letting more of her hair hide her face.

Seth pointed at the glibber she was eating. "What is that?"

Her answer was so silent, if Seth didn't have supernatural hearing he wouldn't have understood it. "Jelly."

He didn't know this word. "What is in it?"

"I - I don't know."

Mary Ann had taken notice, talking over the other girl: "It's a dessert, really sweet. You should try it."

He'd rather not. On the other hand, he was supposed to be fighting Braeden later on and would need the energy. Copying Mouse, he only scooped a tiny amount onto his spoon before sticking it in his mouth.

The texture was thick and slimy, the food cold, reminding him of congealed, old blood. Seth was no scavenger, so it was not something he considered pleasant. The flavor wasn't so bad, very sweet just like Mary Ann had told him, but it tasted ... unnatural.

"I don't like it," he stated.

"No problem, I'll take it," Himiko said. Leaving his neck alone, she snatched the cup from under his nose.