“So.” Zander stood in the student lounge, arms folded. His gaze swept back and forth across them. “You turn some of my friends against me, set up traps in the laboratory to try and catch me doing something I didn’t, accuse me of sabotage, nearly get me busted in front of a council, and then, a few months later, you come crawling to me. Promising some awesome project I won’t be able to say no to. And that my research is the only thing that’ll help. And that if I do, you might be able to negotiate even a free year for me.” His frown was slight, but it cut Arenya deeply regardless. “Why should I believe you?”

Arenya closed her eyes and looked down. “That’s not exactly what happened,” she said. “We didn’t want to get you in trouble for sabotage that you didn’t do. But we were acting out of line.”

Zander didn’t move. “So I exaggerated a little. Fine. Your point is?”

The words all but caught on Arenya’s throat, but she forced them out. “And I’m sorry.”

A bit of a smile broke through Zander’s face. Arenya couldn’t help but admit, that smile could probably melt the hearts of some women, though she and Cartalis were thankfully immune. “Glad one of you feels that way.”

Cartalis looked to the side. The expression on her face was unreadable, but Arenya could tell she couldn’t quite bring herself to also apologize.

Zander walked over to one of the lounge chairs and kicked his feet up. “So tell me the project and why I should help.”

Cartalis finally spoke up. “The project is to create a martial sword focus of steel, with sixteen channels. We wish to use some highly unorthodox techniques to straighten them post-production.”

“Cool, cool. So you’ll need to imbue the steel with a very specific amount of mana, yeah?”

Cartalis’ jaw dropped. “You certainly figured that out quickly…”

Zander shrugged. “I’ve been working in this lab a lot longer than you. I know the materials.”

“If you know the materials so well, you can probably imagine what concern arose next.” Cartalis pointed to one of the various scraps of paper on the table. “I listed each of our attempts thus far here.”

Zander stood and walked over to the table. “EMD-NM? IMD-F?”

Arenya spoke up, glad to have some insight on the technicals for once. “That first one means it had too much mana dust and wasn’t pliable enough, and the second one means it fractured when we made the inital channels. Those were the only results we could get.”

Zander nodded. “Indeed. You try adding the dust slower?”

Fury contorted Cartalis’ face. “Of course I did, you little b-” She took a deep breath. “I tried adding it in small increments, indeed. The filler is too unevenly distributed. We need something that can measure the amount of mana dust to an extreme precision.”

“And that something is?” Zander ran a hand through his hair, a ridiculous-looking grin on his face.

Arenya barely managed not to roll her eyes. Zander knew the answer, and they all knew it. He just wanted to hear them say it out loud.

Cartalis’ jaw seemed not to be working, so Arenya spoke up. “Your device. The mana sensor that you used to detect the tripwire. You said that it was extremely sensitive and could measure even very small amounts of ambient mana really, really well, right?”

“Right.”

“So it could measure the amount of mana in a sample of crystal dust almost perfectly.”

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“I’d have to reconfigure it a bit, since it’s set up for active focused mana right now, but that should be doable.”

“And,” said Arenya, “then we could get exactly the right amount of crystal dust into the steel, and it’d be exactly right for the sword.”

Zander nodded. “Sounds like it’d work to me.”

Even Cartalis’ eyes seemed to sparkle a bit as Arenya exclaimed, “So you’ll do it?”

The smile on Zander’s face vanished in an instant. “I didn’t say that.”

Arenya’s heart sank.

“I mean…” Zander returned to his seat and kicked up his feet once more. He looked almost bored, somehow. “What you’re proposing is to use my research for your project. I worked hard on that, and haven’t set out any results yet, you know? I’d need something decent in return.” He smirked. “And no, the free year of schooling won’t cut it, if that was even true to start with. I don’t need it. I got cash to spare. How’s first name credit sound?”

“Ugh…” Cartalis looked like she’d just swallowed a needle. “This sword is a private commission. It is being given to a singular party, with whom we have already worked and agreed that Arenya and I receive equal credit, with any other assistants as third.”

Zander blinked. “It’s military, then?”

“Personal ownership.”

“…You’re joking, right?”

“No.”

Zander burst out laughing. “You want me to use my one-of-a-kind, experimental mana sensor on some private art piece you’re making? That’s just gonna sit on some shelf looking pretty and gathering dust?” Zander righted himself, still chuckling. “Not a chance.”

He stood. “’Fraid you’ll have to figure out the rest on your own.”

Arenya closed her eyes. So he refused. So they couldn’t use the machine. Cartalis would have an answer. She always did.

And if they couldn’t do it… Well, her parents would surely be able to make do, right? Maybe they wouldn’t be able to hire anyone. It’d just be the two of them on the farm.

How badly would that cut into their work?

Would they be able to make it, still?

Would they eventually need to call her back, saying they just couldn’t afford another year - that the harvest was too low, that they needed a third hand, that they just didn’t have the money to pay for her room and board after all?

She opened her eyes, turned and looked at her friend -

Cartalis’ cheeks were wet. “Zander, stop!”

He did not turn as he strode toward the exit.

“Reconsider! Please!”

He didn’t even slow.

“I’ll… I’ll go on a date with you!”

Zander froze. The room was silent of all but Arenya’s heartbeat.

Slowly, he turned. “What did you just say?”

Cartalis wiped her face on her sleeve. “You heard correctly. If you agree to help us, upon completion of the sword, I agree to a date of indeterminate but reasonable length. We may go to various locations, including dinner of your choice.” She took a deep breath, her chest shuddering.

Zander stared at them. The silence stretched for one, two, three seconds.

“I will permit physical contact. You may hug me during it.”

“Cartalis, please.” Arenya felt her own eyes beginning to water. “We’ll find another way.”

“Not in time, we won’t.” Cartalis stood firm, her face a look of determination despite her cheeks still glistening faintly with wetness.

Zander grinned. “Anything else?”

Arenya’s fists clenched.

“Anything else? Anything else? ANYTHING ELSE?” Cartalis raised her voice to such fervor that Arenya almost thought the windows would shatter. “You want more, you pig? You want a kiss? Fine, I’ll give you an Arela-blasted kiss too, in front of the whole Six-damned school if you please. And tell you what, then you can drag me to your dorm and have your way with me and then brag to everyone right in front of my face about how, because you’re so very smart, you managed to impress the Blond Ice Queen so much she gave you her fucking virginity! How is that for more, you - you -” Cartalis fell to a knee. She was crying again, breathing heavily. Her face was red.

Arenya reached a hand out to lay on Cartalis’ shoulder, but thought better of it at the last moment.

Zander’s eyes were wide. It looked almost as though he had stopped breathing.

“You don’t mean any of that,” said Arenya. “You’re just… upset. Right?”

Cartalis sniffled. “I meant it. I’d do it all and more if that will convince you, Zander.”

Zander closed his eyes slowly. “You mean that? You’d give all that for a friend you just made a few months ago?”

“She’s the only reason I have any friends at all, you know. There is not much I would not give.” She looked straight at Zander. “Perhaps that is something you will never understand.”

Arenya tried to resist, to tell Cartalis that nothing, nothing could be worth that price. The words caught in her throat, as she realized she was sobbing.

Zander smiled again. For the first time Arenya could recall, he looked sheepish. “Way to make a guy feel real bad, you know…”

He extended his hand. “Tell you what. I don’t need anything. You convinced me. The project sounds cool enough that working on it is enough. I’m in.”

Cartalis stood on quivering legs and shook Zander’s hand. “G-g-glad to have you on board,” she sniffled. To Arenya’s shock, it sounded like she meant it.

“So when do we start?”