The blonde pulled her hand out of his grasp, a little to hard, stumbling as she did so. Stopping, she stood still to regain her balance, jaw clenched and eyes slightly teary. Her temple felt like exploding.

"Help me? Keep me out of more trouble? Is that what I am for you, Naul? Trouble?!" She turned and started walking again, not quite as quickly and a lot more unbalanced.

"I don't need help. Moore deserved more than just a telling off. He lied to me, and he didn't even tell me Horation was still here! I thought you were going to back me up. But..." Stopping again, she turned and frowned.

"You took his side!"

"Side? I didn't take anyone's side." Naul retorted, though he knew he shouldn't be baiting the drunk, angry girl, "You're not trouble. Gods, Athrym, you just shouldn't be talking to a professor that way. Not now. Not in front of everyone else on St Grumbles."

The boy was persistent, reaching for her, mostly in an attempt to steady her. He'd certainly not been drinking as much. He wished he'd grabbed an umbrella. It was going to be a wet walk home.

"Look, it's not like I didn't understand—"

((Predetermined interruption FTW. ))

"No, you obviously didn't understand!" She said in a cold hiss.

"Are you embarrassed by me?! Is that it?! Because old 'Crazy A' made a scene, in front of everyone at St Grumbles?" She swatted his hands away, stumbling backwards and catching herself against the door frame of the dining hall.

"Don't...just don't! I'm fine, I don't need you to hold my hand." Pushing off the wooden frame, she stumbled outside into the rain. It wasn't exactly heavy, but it was cold. She walked a few paces, before tripping on the wet grass and falling ungracefully.

"Fine, huh?"

Nauleth tried to keep the teasing edge out of his voice, but it was hard to resist. He moved to stand over her, offering his hand with a loving, begrudging sort of persistence but not making motions to pick her up in her intoxicated defiance, "You did make a scene, and, yes, I was clocking embarrassed. I don't have a problem with you being angry with Professor Moore over Horation. It's lovely that you want to protect him ... in the same way, I want to protect you."

He sighed, rain dripping from his fingertips as he held his hand out still, hair beginning to cling to his face already, "I'm just thinking that if you want to discuss important things like a baby's future, you should be sober and perhaps schedule a more private office meeting."

Athrym looked up at him from her wet grassy bed, eyes narrowed, water dripping through her white-blonde hair. She glared at his hand sullenly, angry at him for being right. Angry at herself.

"You knew who I was when you met me, Nauleth. I've never been one to avoid making a scene for the sake of saving face. You heard about Clocks Eve, I'm sure. If I embarrass you..well-"



The girl stared at his hand for a moment longer, before reaching up and taking it. Pulling herself unsteadily to her feet, she pushed her hair out of her eyes.

"I didn't even know he was still here. Moore said he was going, gone!" She scowled into the rain, everything was spinning slowly. The blonde closed her eyes.

"I'm drunk."

"Mmhmm." Naul agreed, simply. There wasn't much else to add to that. He kept her hand, attempting to steady her with it, not walking just yet, "Your scenes were more entertaining and less embarrassing before I loved you. Now, as endearing as your fiery temper can be to me, I find myself compelled to put more effort into protecting your reputation."

He looked away as if shy about his admission. Things had changed. So much.

"I think you have a point for Moore, but we just need to work on your presentation. How's he going to respect your opinion or believe you care if you're yelling at him after too much to drink on holiday?"

The dark-eyed boy expression became a sheepish grin, looking back at her, tugging a little to start walking towards the dorms, "You forget I made my bet over you on Clock's Eve. On purpose."

The girl opened her mouth to make a protest, a witty argument, but nothing came out, so she shut it again. Why was he so infuriatingly right?!



Athyrm pouted, running out of steam. She didn't have anything that could stand up to his logic. Still, she felt out of sorts. Obviously her little outbursts would have to go. She had to think about others, even when she was too drunk to walk. It was...it was a little much to think about right now.



Grudgingly, she stumbled after him, clinging to his hand as she watched her step. Technically, she was still mad at him, but it wasn't the temple searing mad. It was more of a dejected mad. If he'd made a scene, she would have stood by him, right? Recalling the prior morning in the Cloister, she pondered. Hadn't she done the same thing? Protected Naul for his own good? Instead of casting a wall spell, Naul had carted her off, but the principle was the same.

"Your friends must have thought you were clocking moony." She muttered, concentrating on the ground. Making a little laugh, she shook her head.

"No, they must think you are clocking moony." They were getting closer to the dorms now, which she was grateful for. She was very wet now and it wasn't warm.

Naul laughed and did his best to hold the blonde steady as they walked. Drunk and obviously still angry by the touch of her field, the dark-eyed boy still found her fiery personality attractive, regardless of the personal risks, "Moony? Gods, yes. I figured the odds were stacked against me from the start enough as it was, but that was probably part of the appeal at the time. I was rather guttered, to be honest, and I could claim I was disoriented by how lovely you were."

"But, really, it's not like I had too many friends to think much of anything about me anyway." He smirked, self-depreciating, understanding that he'd spent a long time digging his own hole with his choices.

"You know, Angie still thinks you're just laying in wait to kill him. I have a feeling he's a little nervous about tomorrow's ride to Vienda." Naul added with a lopsided grin, slowing his pace a little despite the rain, perhaps a little unwilling to arrive at their destination so soon.

The drunk girl couldn't help but giggle, rather flattered by his deceleration, even in her anger. She didn't think she was lovely, but it was nice when he said she was. Especially right now.



Athrym snorted rather ungracefully, kicking at the wet grass as they walked, pouting.

"I'm not going to kill Angus, I gave him socks!" She declared, as though that obviously meant something significant. Her lips pursed in a slightly offended way and her brow knitted, slowing to a sort of drunken stroll through the rain with the young-man-soon-to-be-her-fiance, still kicking at the grass as they walked, drenched through to the skin.

"You know, I wasn't even that clocking mean to him. Why is everyone so...titchy? Honestly! It's not like I've hurt anyone...lately." Her field pulsed weakly, indignant more than angry now. Slowing more, the blonde glanced at Nauleth and pouted again.

"I'm sorry I embarrassed you. Forgive me?" She tilted her head, blue eyes serious, pink lips in a small frown. The spinning sensation was a little more intense now, alcohol finally hitting her system completely.

He smiled at her, warmly, fingers intertwining with hers, "Oh Ath, it's not me you should be apologizing to, but of course I forgive you. We'll just work on your approach; I promise." Naul laughed teasingly, leaning forward to kiss her forehead in the rain. He wasn't angry, though he also wasn't quite sure if the blonde knew entirely what she was so upset about. She might have had some valid reason to be concerned for Horation, but she'd just have to find a better approach with Professor Moore. Whatever the clock that was.

"I'd offer to help you upstairs," The dark-eyed boy smirked mischievously, "but maybe you should just open the window once you get settled."

Athrym made a wry face as he kissed her forehead, not quite agreeing with him, but not willing to start another fight. Taking a deep breath, she sighed. What a night.



The girl glanced at the dorms across the courtyard and made a face.

"Whomever made my room on the second floor was a genius. Not like your clocking room..." Her blue eyes lolled back to him as wet blonde locks fell across her face, grinning.

"I'll go open the window." She said in a conspiratorial whisper. Letting go of his hand, she hurried away across the wet, rainy grounds. Reaching the dorm doors, she gave Naul a quick backwards glance, before ducking inside. She stumbled on the first step, and fell up them twice. Making it to her own door, she giggled and shushed herself, fumbling with the key in the lock. Finally she got it with a satisfying click, turning the handle and stumbling into the room. Closing the door quietly, she turned the lock gently, then crept to the window, dripping steadily on the floor. Reaching for the window, she pulled on it, forcing it open. Grinning, she stood in the view of the courtyard, reaching up to undo the buttons of her black dress as though oblivious to the open curtains.

"Tssk." Nauleth hissed playfully from two floors below, hoping he could even be heard above the rain, trying desperately to keep his voice down, "Save the fun for me."

With a cautious glance around, he was attempting the wall again, scrambling as carefully and quickly as possible. It was wet. Rain was in his eyes. His shoes were not made for slick stone. He slipped more than once, biting his lip to keep from cursing at scraped hands and knees. After skirting the first floor window, he'd finally found his grip on the blond's when he missed his footing, narrowly missing crashing into the window at his feet, chin grinding down the stone.

The boy whispered a furious string of curses as he caught himself before he lost his hold completely and crashed into the bushes below, precariously between stories, tempted to kick off his shoes, hoping there wasn't anyone coming.

Then with a grunt he was up again, finally sliding ungracefully but successfully into Athrym's room without so much of a crash as a wet slap of soaked fabric. He side-stepped from the window, leaning dripping against her desk and raising the back of his hand to his chin with a scowl.

Naul pulled his hand away to squint at his own blood, then put it back, laughing very quietly, "Clocking hell. That could've been worse." He grinned lopsidedly without wincing, whispering playfully as he cradled his bleeding chin, "Maybe living off-campus wouldn't be such a bad idea."

Athrym abandoned her buttons as she heard Naul's scrambling and cursing, leaning over to watch him hanging precariously with a little gasp, hand on her mouth. Stepping back as he crashed in, she winced in sympathy as she saw his sorry, wet state.



The soaked blonde made a small noise in the back of her throat, grabbing her white school shirt from a neatly folded pile on the desk and stepping forward. Removing his hand gently, she held the shirt to his chin with one hand, other hand resting on his cheek. Her blue eyes were concerned, wet dress half undone and dripping all over the floor.

"Oh Nauleth, I'm sorry!" Athrym said in a half whisper, biting her lip regretfully.

"You shouldn't have come up. Aww...Do you need to sit down?"

He held his head up a little and kept it as still as he could with her shirt at his chin and hand against his face, "It's fine. Probably just a scratch, anyway. It's nothing to be sorry about."

The boy's grin had turned roguish, dark eyes drifting from her face while reaching to fiddle listlessly with the edges of Athrym's dress with one hand and the other came to rest on her hand on his cheek. She was strangely cute either way, really, whether drunkenly angry or drunkenly concerned. He bit his lip and shrugged, fingertips wandering over uncovered skin, "I wanted to come up. I just should've taken the rain into consideration, I suppose."

Naul laughed as quietly as he could, returning his gaze to hers, "I don't have to stay, though ... we're leaving for Vienda in the morning, after all. So your parents can kill me."

The girl blushed, trying to ignore his line of sight, having momentarily forgotten her dress in his near-fall. The salt and pepper haired boy's fingertips on her damp skin were warm and ticklish. She forced down the shudder down her spine, but couldn't hide the goosebumps that rose on her pale flesh. As he eyes returned to hers, she smiled, cheeks flushed.



The platinum blonde pouted a little, hormones firing from the extensive alcohol in her system. The idea of Nauleth staying seemed like an awfully good idea.

"They won't kill you. Well...Margol wont." Athrym giggled quietly, shaking her head.

"I promise to take care of you. From both of them." Quite suddenly, she shivered.

"Bells and chimes its cold! Here, hold this." Taking his wandering hand, she placed it on the shirt, pulling away from the boy and continuing to unbutton her dress. The small logical part of her brain pointed out that Nauleth was quite visibly standing in the room, but the majority of her drunk brain pointed out he'd seen her naked before and she was wet and it was cold.

"Do you want a towel?" She asked, moving to her wardrobe and opening the door, taking two white folded towels from the folded pile. Standing at the end of the bed, she placed them on the blankets, reaching up to peel the sopping wet fabric from her shoulders and arms, wriggling the dress down her hips. Underneath she wore a thin white satin shift, wet through. Dropping the heavy black dress to the floor, she stepped out of it and picked up a towel, rubbing herself down. Reaching up, she began to dry her hair, smiling at him.

"I don't really mind if you stay, but I can't promise you'll get any sleep." Giggling, she blushed again, embarrassed by her forwardness.

Naul grinned a little, removing the shirt from his chin and studying the stain as if trying to determine if the scrape was finished bleeding. He looked up again with a kind of inappropriate timing he could say he was proud of, watching the blond squirm attractively out of something clinging and soaked. Ah, that was nice, and the realization of his enjoyment only served as a reminder that sneaking around for a few more years would really end up being a big pain in the ass.

Especially because he figured he'd eventually get caught. It was too much fun to stay safely secret for long.

"Sleep? We've got all day crammed in a carriage to Vienda to do that." He teased as he shrugged off his jacket, neatly hanging it over Athrym's desk chair in the desperate hope it would dry. He slipped out of his shoes and tugged at his tie as he walked over to accept his offered towel,

"I just have to hope my clothes dry, and trust that Nath actually put our gifts in my room."

His grin broadened deviously, implying he had plenty of time to spare, wet chill and excitement bringing a flush of color to his cheeks, "Besides, I'm all packed. Are you?"

Athrym glanced at his dripping jacket with a raised eyebrow. That would never be dry by morning. Throwing the towel over one shoulder, she sat on the end of the bed and began removing her disgustingly wet boots. It was like she'd taken her own private ponds for a walk. They were going to be ruined. Throwing them aside, she leaned over and dried her wet feet, wriggling wrinkled toes, before dumping herself backwards on the bed, feet just skimming the floor. Looking up at Nauleth, she laced her hands across her belly, resting in a state of content inebriation. It was just lovely to watch him sometimes.

"Packed? Oh yes, mostly." Pointing with her foot, she indicated a medium sized black suitcase beside her dresser.

"I don't really have a lot to pack. In fact, I've decided to do a bit of shopping there. I need more clothes, especially now that dress is ruined."

Naul threw the towel on his head with a playful smirk at the blonde's mention of shopping, stepping to one side to stand in between her feet as they hung off the bed. He moved to untuck his shirt, hooking his thumbs in the hem of his trousers, which were heavy and cold. Arching his right eyebrow at Athrym, he made a move to undo them that was nothing short of brazenly coy, "Well, it's all well and good if you don't have any clothes, but I'll certainly need to wear something back to my dorm in the morning before we can leave."

He made a face at her, rolling his eyes from under the towel goofily, "I am not crossing campus in any of your clothes, that's for clocking sure." The dark-eyed boy grinned broadly, resisting the urge to actually wring out the pants he'd removed with teasing slowness where he stood,

"Not unless I feel like starting a whole new set of rumors, anyway."

Athrym's pale blue gaze followed Naul as he moved, grinning as he threw the towel over his hand. As he stood between her feet, she moved to rest her hands under her head, so she could see him better. It still gave her a thrill seeing him here, like this. Memories swirled through her mind, and as he moved to his pants, she bit her lip.



The girl laughed a little at the thought. Naul running across campus in her blue mugrobi dress, that would be funny. Even tempting enough to throw his clothes out th-nah...that would just be wrong. Her eyes watched the now removed pants, part of her not wanting them to get the bed drenched, another part not clocking caring.



Shivering again, the blonde crossed her arms across her chest with a laugh, tucking her toes around the backs of his bare calves.

"Rumors...thats all this clocking school is full of. I am over rumors." Sucking in her bottom lip a little, she made a little noise of pleasure.

"Your legs are warm." Sure enough, even though the boy had cold legs, her toes were like ice. He felt better than warm socks.

Naul hissed in shocked surprise at the touch of the blonde's freezing toes against his bare legs, but he still grinned, one side before the other. He attempted to fold his pants across the foot of the bed in a manner that might actually help them dry, but he wasn't really sure if it mattered. It'd just be raining tomorrow anyway. His fingers were on the buttons of his shirt next, tilting his head at Athrym as he began to undo them, towel still precarious and ridiculous over his hair.

"I think what you meant to say was that your feet were cold." He smirked, shrugging off his shirt with a hint of a shiver—damp, chilly, excited—before leaning forward to hover over the girl, palms on the bed on either side of her body.

He was not entirely dry, dripping a little, face close to hers, "We've got quite the long ride tomorrow," Naul taunted quietly, almost a whisper, "Are you sure you're up for not sleeping?"

Athrym squeaked a little as droplets of cold water fell off the boy onto her. She reached up and rubbed his head with the towel draped so amusingly over his hair, attempting to dry it a little. Looking into his dark eyes, she smiled, happy. Using the edges of the white cloth, she pulled him closer and kissed him lightly.

"I don't need sleep. I'll sleep tomorrow." She said quietly, giggling again. Letting go of the towel, she placed her hands gently on his chest, gasping slightly.

"Your freezing! Why didn't you say something?" She asked with genuine concern, placing the flat of her palm against him in a futile attempt to help him get warm.

Naul bit his bottom lip to keep from laughing, closing his eyes at the touch of her hands on his chest, bending at the elbows to lean a little closer. He sighed, knowing somewhere in the back of his mind that it was very likely neither of their parents would at all approve of their behavior at the moment, at all, really. Not that he cared ... well, part of him did. As with most rules of propriety in his life, the boy struggled with impatience. In some ways, it was for the same reasons he ended up on the Lawn with so many students that he was here in various states of undress with Athrym.

Convention had its place where it mattered, but Naul was hard-pressed to find issue with how they chose to spend time together.

He'd managed to accept the need for patience about some things, but here, as they were, made the boy realize how much he wasn't sure he really wanted to wait until they graduated to claim the blonde as his own.

"What would you like me to say?" He grinned stupidly, "I'm cold. Are you going to warm me up or not?"

Athrym made a mock face of shock, slapping his arm with a laugh. Reaching up, she pulled him closer again, planting a longer slower kiss on his lovely soft lips, before wriggling and shifting up the bed till her head rested on the pillow. Tucking her legs up, she scooted under the blanket and giggled, pulling it under her chin.

"If you want me to warm you up, you'll have to come and get me." She said with a childlike giggle, holding onto the soft blanket tightly. Her blue eyes shone mischievously. The sheet and pillow were getting slightly wet, but she didn't care. It wasn't like she'd be here to complain about it tomorrow night. A giddy thrill made the butterflies in her stomach twitter. They were going to talk to their parents! The platinum blonde couldn't wipe the grin from her face.

"Will I now?"

Naul growled playfully, almost a whisper, reaching up to toss the towel on his head to the floor before reaching for the covers at Athrym's chin and moving to crawl towards her on the bed. He tugged lightly, grinning lopsidedly, "That can be arranged, you know."

The dark-eyed boy was almost hovering over her now, fingers tightening at the hem of the blanket, expression very much becoming one of askance, arching his right eyebrow curiously. He tilted his head to kiss her, laughing quietly as he did so, "You don't really want me to sleep on the floor."

Returning his kiss with a giggle, the girl made a face of intense thought.

"I don't know if there is enough room in my bed for the both of us. Not unless we're really really close." Her grin gave away her cheek, not really meaning it, but having fun playing along anyway. Moving slightly, the blonde gave him enough room to crawl in beside her, still holding the blanket tight to her chin. It truly was warm under the covers, and she didn't really want her boyfriend to freeze. Not really.