The dorm common rooms were not extravagant. They were simple lounges that, as the name suggested, served as a common point of meeting for a cluster of dorm rooms. They were designed to encourage students to get to know each other. A skylight and a couple windows let in the dazzling light of a Belt-Doral afternoon. If there was anything to be said about a mountainside school, it was certainly the view. The clouds seemed to dance casually in the winds, pausing every now and then to be painted.

The common room held some games stored in a shelf - including a few decks of ever-popular Maneost cards, suited and unsuited - and just barely not enough furniture. Although there was a comfortable soft seat called a beanbag chair whose purpose was to engulf and probably consume the sitter.

The four of them were finished with classes for the day and were hanging around. Amilyn had a sullen look as she sat criss-cross in the room's centre, sketching something. Her auburn hair occasionally fell down into her face when she grew too focused, and she blew it away.

Kurrik sat in the beanbag chair. As always, he held a strong penchant for not shutting up, though with a suave voice like his, it was understandable. He tossed occasional comments and questions at Amilyn; there were more people in the room than words in her usual responses.

And Oluminarie sat across from Flame as they played cards across a small table. The cards at the edge were in constant danger of toppling off.

Oluminarie scanned her hand and the cards in play. Both her hidden hand cards were probably low numbers, but that wasn't enough for her to risk taking either of them yet. Better to claim a trick off the table hand. She played a seven. "Jehan. Pair."

"Triplet," countered Flame, showing his own seven. "My trick."

Oluminarie grimaced good-naturedly and slid the cards over to him. "Yours it is. Hey, Flame. Any thoughts about Kurrik's birthday celebration? I promise it will be fun."

Like a summoned demon, Kurrik appeared. The only warning was soft footfalls. "Now, what's this about my birthday? Something quite secret and intensely scandalous?"

"I'm just talking with Flame about giving the Gauntlet a try. I think he's still nervous about it."

Kurrik pushed back his dark hair - it was nonchalantly messy in a way that a lot of girls seemed to find attractive - then leaned forward and gripped Flame's left shoulder. "We won't let you get hurt, Flame. You come with us and count on us."

"Kurr, we can't promise that." She jostled her chair over to Flame's other shoulder, pushing Kurrik away teasingly. "We'll take the same blows as you. It'll be thrilling, but no more. You know there haven't been any accidents."

"And also," put in Kurrik, "I promise I won't be mad, but remember. This is my last year."

Kurrik pulled another wooden chair over to them and relaxed into it. "But do what feels right to you."

Oluminarie moved back to her side. Cards continued to change hands in silence.

Kurrik breathed a quiet sigh. "I can't believe I'll be graduating."

Oluminarie punched him playfully with her card-free hand. "You still have a year to mess it up, Kurr."

"Quiet down, class act."

"You're not even good at magic. Any of it. If anything, I can't believe you're graduating."

"Shut up. I could take any of you in a match. I get better marks than all of you combined."

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"I don't know how that's possible with maths like that."

Another brief silence ensued. More cards moved around.

Oluminarie stopped lamenting her impending loss. Flame spoke up. "Do you know where you're going after you graduate, Kurr?"

"Well. Somewhere far from the mountains is a start. It gets too chilly here."

"Right, somewhere far away," Flame repeated, then he played a card, "Grimoire."

Oluminarie took in the state of the table again and shook her head. "Ugh, that's almost your game. Anyway, Kurr, it'll be good to have the rest of our schooling pass by with some real silence."

Kurrik smiled softly before returning to the question. "There's an expedition out past the Protectorate. I mean, across the sea."

Oluminarie placed her hand down on one corner and looked at him intently.

"Bordering? You can't have chosen that on a whim."

"No, My sister told me about some new breakthrough regarding the Outside, and I talked with some of the teachers. All the important preparations should be done in a few months."

"You really think you have a shot, huh?"

"Hey, I've been pretty fucking lucky so far."

It was dangerous business, the Outside. When the Fae had first appeared, part of the world - a Northern piece of the continent of Keres along with part of its eastern neighbour, Galil - had been encased in something resembling a magical dome. Eventually, magicians and cartographers had discovered that the Border was circular and had investigated the epicentre only to find nothing of particular note. The Border itself prevented anyone from accessing the Outside world - the rest of Keres and Galil, Iono to the North, Colombia and Cambodi-Aria across the ocean, or any of the Eastern continents.

Oluminarie wasn't sure of the details, but there were Bordering expeditions that sailed to the Border's inner edge, hoping to experiment and find a way through. And see if the Outside still even existed.

The only other thing she knew was that Bordering expeditions always ran into unforeseen dangers, and many of them failed to return. Maybe as soon as this time next year, Kurrik might board a ship to never return. As a post-graduation option, it was more in-character for him than she had realised.

Amilyn cleared her throat. She had gotten up and was standing by the doorway. Her sketchbook was tucked under her arm, and her drawing utensils were stored in a pouch. She tucked her hair behind her ear. "I have a relief I want to finish carving. Just let me know if Flame says yes."

"He'll say yes! It's a birthday gift to me, after all." Kurrik announced to Amilyn's back. The common room door swung open and shut. "Listen to that, Flame. Amilyn doesn't show it well, but she wants you to come, too."

"Kurr! Don't pressure him."

Kurrik ignored her. "Hey, when you give your all to something, Flame, it's fantastic. I love that. And this is the exact sort of thing I can see you get sucked in to. You may be new to practical magic, academically speaking, but I know you've got more experience than some of my own snooty peers here. I've seen it, right? You kicked my ass the last time we sparred. Here, let me request you in Lothlo. I've been studying what you taught me. Ish... Ishan gu n'adre... uh..."

Flame responded in rapid Lothlo tongue and then punctuated it with "Good try."

"Well, it's not your last year. But for me, I want to give this a shot. You should too. You don't know your strengths until you give things a damned try."

Kurrik leaned over and took a closer peek at Flame's hand. "Look at this game of cards, for instance. You've both got hands that you know about and then" - he tapped the facedown cards in front of them - "these hidden hands that are yours, but only your opponent knows about, right?"

Oluminarie smiled at him sweetly. "Kurr, I swear if you're trying to turn a casual game of YenGain into a shitty life lesson, I will not stand for it."

"Whoa, look at the mouth on this girl. My ma told me soap and clean water can help with that."

"Your ma is a wise woman, and I think you should take her advice."

Kurrik snorted. "If I didn't use those choice curses, they'd get all dusty. Then who'd be around for my ma to advise? She'd die of boredom."

Oluminarie watched Flame. His smile had been growing, wider and more genuine, for the past couple minutes. If there was something Kurrik was good at, it was getting people to respond to him.

"Anyway, Flame, my point is, there are always going to be things you don't know about yourself until you take risks." Here, he knelt as though propositioning Flame as in a royal theatre drama. "Flame. Wilt thou take a risk with me, my bosom companion?"

Flame rolled his eyes, but nodded. "Well then. We can try it soon, bosom companion."

Oluminarie sighed, but pulled out her notebook. "I'll write it down. In the margin."

Kurrik stood and started walking backwards to the door. "Oh, don't worry about writing it. We'll remember. It's my birthday. Hey, I'm meeting up with Alicia. We're going-"

"Wow," Oluminarie interrupted, her eyes already fixed on her cards, "Tell me details later."

"I won't," Kurrik sing-said, leaving the room. Only then did she realise she hadn't been able to ask more about his expedition.

"Yen," said Flame, as he took the last trick and ended the game.