“How many… channels… does it take to begin… to destabilize… iron?”

“Seven.” Arenya was surprised at how much Cartalis was huffing. The bags they were carrying really weren’t that heavy anyway. It was only a week’s worth of food, and while Arenya was a big eater, she didn’t need more than three bags. Evidently Cartalis’ upbringing in big cities didn’t involve much carrying around of heavy objects. They’d already taken two breaks other than this one on the way back to Arenya’s dorm, and Cartalis still hadn’t caught her breath. Arenya, meanhwile, hadn’t even broken a sweat.

Of course, Cartalis’ insistence on reviewing flash cards for their upcoming final exam each spare moment probably wasn’t helping, even though Arenya tried to convince her that they’d be done with this faster if Cartalis ceased with the talking and focused on slowing her breathing instead.

“Hey, girlllllls,” called out a familiar voice.

“Greetings, Ya’el,” said Cartalis. Arenya suspected Cartalis was making a point of ignoring that strange greeting. “Next card… if a meterial begins… to strain… under four channels… how many to collapse?”

Arenya paused for a moment, thinking as she waved to Ya’el. “Umm… Six?”

“Eight,” said Cartalis. “I’ll mark that… as review.”

Ya’el took a seat next to them on the bench, just in front of a bag of food that Cartalis had placed down before them. She all but stuck her nose in the bags of food they’d strewn around them. “So what’s all this for?”

“The Days of Freedom. The holiday the Great Feast is for. I have to prepare my own food since I can’t eat at the dining hall during it.”

“You and your rules,” muttered Ya’el as she rolled her eyes. She stuck her face even further in the back, awkwardly kneeling on the bench as she did so. Arenya was about to point out the shortness of Ya’el’s skirt at the moment, but a shake of the head from Cartalis reminded her that not everyone shared her standards of modesty. “Rice, vegetables, fruits, beans,” said Ya’el. “There’s no bread in any of these. How come?”

Arenya once again found herself unsure how to respond to someone who knew so little, despite being a Follower herself. After a moment of thought, she said, “The next week, the rules of eating are very strict. I have to avoid a lot of foods I can eat the rest of the year. The dining hall isn’t really allowed the rest of the time, so really not now. The rules are for no bread or other grains.”

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Ya’el blinked. “And they’re very strict right now because…”

“Because that’s what Followers do.” Arenya barely managed not to sigh heavily. “The One Above commanded that we avoid certain foods for this time. I’m allowed to eat rice and beans, at least. Professor Kazurist won’t even eat those.” Arenya had no idea how he managed a whole week like that, though she wasn’t about to say that aloud to a skeptic.

Shaking her head, Ya’el said, “That’s ridiculous…” She froze in place, “Wait a minute. Doesn’t this mean we won’t be able to even eat bread at the Great Feast? What kind of feast is that?”

Now it was Arenya’s turn to roll her eyes. “Plenty of great foods don’t have bread in them. Meat, soup, salad, potatoes, squash… And we can eat some kinds of bread, as long as they were cooked quickly enough and don’t rise it all.”

“And are those kinds of bread actually any good?”

“Uhh…” Arenya looked down. “No, not really.”

Cartalis threw a quick glare at Arenya, though she was smiling beneath it and still panting heavily. “When I… asked earlier, you informed me… that fastbread was quite tasty.”

Ya’el started to crack up while Arenya hunted for an answer. “Well, it’s good at first. After a day or so it starts to go stale and you get really sick of it. But you won’t have to eat that much since you’re not a Follower.”

“Oh, and so I will have to eat a bunch because I am one?” said Ya’el. “Hah. No way.”

Arenya decided not to mention that she also generally didn’t eat any fastbread after the Grand Feast and instead just ate rice and fruit for the most part.

“So once you’ve brought all this food to your dorm, then what?”

“Then,” said Arenya, “I clean the dorm of any crumbs, put the food away, and then keep studying for finals.”

“Ah, studying. So you’re not only thinking about the feast stuff and the band.” Arenya almost responded to the playful chiding that Ya’el cared more about the band than Arenya did, but Ya’el continued before Arenya could respond. “How long have you been studying for?”

“Uhh…” Arenya blushed. “Since Cartalis took out those flash cards?”

Cartalis glared again. Her smile was no longer present, and her gasping for breath seemed to have vanished. “You only just began to study today? Friend, the exams are in but a few days!”

Ya’el burst out laughing even harder. “Listen, all that writing for Drav’s band has been keeping me busy…”

“So busy you haven’t even found yourself with the time to do more than review our flash cards?” Cartalis grabbed two bags - before she’d tired herself out with just one - and began to all but run toward Arenya’s dorm building. “Let us improve the pace - each moment we are standing here is a moment that you are underprepared for your exams!”

Arenya and Ya’el exchanged a glance, before Arenya took the final bag. Ya’el grabbed a bag too, though it wasn’t really necessary when there weren’t many left from what Cartalis hadn’t taken.

“I gotta say,” said Ya’el. “It’s gonna be weird to be at the feast or whatever, but you are making it sound interesting. I’m looking forward to it.”

Arenya found herself grinning. “I’m glad for that. Now, let’s get going. You wanna study some with Cartalis and me?”

Ya’el shook her head. “Right now? I don’t think Cartalis is gonna let you go for the rest of the day. I dunno about you, but I’ve got stuff to do.”

Arenya laughed. “Fair enough. See you at the Feast!” And with that, Arenya dashed off to catch up to the now-distant Cartalis.