For a handful of moments, Cedric considered pointing out that Dyllan had just given a fairly eloquent example of that “philosophical stuff” he was supposedly “no good with” - or perhaps simply offering a more easily digestible introduction to the topic of philosophy. About a month ago, he’d found a compilation of short comics that had been surprisingly comprehensive while still keeping both their tone and word count light…

Perhaps it was best not to debate this right here and now. Certainly, Dyllan might underestimate his own intelligence, and Cedric had noted earlier that this perceived lack of intellect did bother him at least a little bit… but Dyllan did not base his sense of self worth on such things. He had other talents that gave him confidence. It was probably just a simple frustration that he couldn’t keep up with his friends - something Cedric could relate to. Even though he had no desire to participate in “sports” with Andie and Dyllan, being left behind - and knowing that he couldn’t truly be a part of the activity even if he’d wanted to - still stung a little.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Drawing attention to problems like that was often the wrong play, better to just let it slide for now. Still, it couldn’t hurt to lay a little ground work, just on the off chance this minor issue became a major one la-

Cedric’s train of though was cut off by Andie careening down and smashing face first into the concrete beside him - tumbling along the ground until coming to a collisional halt upside-down against a metal guard rail.

“How…” Cedric took a second to reorient himself, quietly watching the trail of cracks left in the ground from Andie’s landing repair themselves. “How are you feeling?”

“Oh, I’m completely fine.” Andie made her way back up onto her feet and dusted herself off. “The impact wasn’t as bad as it looked.”

“I know you’re - ‘physically fine’ is the wrong phrase for it… I know you’re uninjured. You’ve walked off worse falls even before your awakening.” Cedric’s eyes flicked up and down Andie, carefully watching her body language and eye movements as she spoke. “I was asking how your awakening went.”

“Oh, right. That. Well…” Andie frowned slightly. “It’s hard to describe. I guess if I had to put into words, I feel now how I thought I’d felt before.”