Lunch

So the next day Dario did the bravest thing of his time at the Academy so far, which was not a flight maneuver. It was carrying his tray over to a table that already had people at it. Nyx's table. She had told him to and he was fairly sure she had half meant it as a dare, expecting him to chicken out, and so the look on her face when he actually set the tray down was worth the entire terrifying walk across the mess hall. The others at the table were Kembe, who never stopped talking, and a quiet one called Roan who just nodded at him. Nobody made room exactly. But nobody told him to leave either, and Kembe immediately asked him a question about his transfer exams, the long horrible exams, and actually listened to the answer, and Dario felt something in his chest that he had not felt since the acceptance letter, which was the sense of a seat being made rather than found.