Chapter 67
Thursday, Day 31
M'redith woke up before Jay and let him continue sleeping for a bit as a healer came in to check on her. Looking over the area where M'redith had been injured the day before she looked up finally with a pleased expression. “You're all healed up. You two can go when you're ready. Breakfast should be starting soon at the dining hall if you're interested.”
M'redith's stomach made a deep resounding growling sound. M'redith smiled with a sheepish expression as Jay mumbled and woke up. Seeing M'redith awake he grinned before he was collected enough to say anything.
The healer just smiled and left the two alone in the room.
“Breakfast?” she asked Jay simply.
Jay's stomach rumbled. “Yes! How are you feeling?”
M'redith shrugged as she stretched and got out of bed. She was wearing a simple tunic and pants that someone had gotten for her after her arrival at the infirmary. She slipped on her boots and laced them up as Jay wiped the sleep out of his eyes.
“I feel great. Starving though. Healing does that to you sometimes,” she said absentmindedly as she finished up tying her boots. She stood up and wound an arm around one of Jay's arms and they walked out of the building. Various healers waved goodbye, some calling M'redith by name.
M'redith waved back kindly but was a little confused. “Unless I had a worse head injury than I initially thought I'm pretty sure I don't know any of these people,” she whispered to Jay out of the corner of her smiling mouth.
Jay shrugged, “Your guess is as good as mine. Everyone seems to like you though so I guess go with it for now? Maybe Aiden will know.”
M'redith's stomach growled again and she put a hand over her stomach. “On second thought, I think I'm more concerned about eating right now.”
Jay laughed, “Ok, lets head out.” The two took the direct route to the dining hall, steering clear of the longer route that would have taken them through the gardens.
They arrived at breakfast a little late and the line was fairly short. Breakfast was a selection of freshly made donuts. Jay grabbed two raspberry jelly donuts while M'redith took a couple chocolate honey-dipped donuts. Sides were a choice of various foods but for Jay there was no question. Jay picked a thin rectangular dish that had a pile of bacon on it along with a bowl of golden hash browns sprinkled with sea salt.
Looking at the other options Jay decided to take a bowl of fruit as well. Eating something healthy wouldn't kill him.
A susurration had grown in the room as people pointed at M'redith or Jay and whispered. They mostly pointed at M'redith.
“What the hell is going on?” she whispered to Jay as the looked about the room for a place to sit.
“JAY!” someone yelled from the other side of the hall. The susurration paused for a moment as the room's focus switched to Aiden and the seated Norri.
The two turned to see Norri sitting in a chair and swinging her feet as she chewed her doughnut and waved at them. Aiden was standing and waving as well, “Over here.” he said loud enough to be heard over the noise of conversations.
M'redith and Jay went to slowly snake their way through the dining hall to make their way over to the table but found the going easier than they had planned. Diners moved their chairs out of M'redith's path as she walked by with smiling faces looking up at her.
They sat down at the table, the four back together once again.
M'redith immediately leaned in, “What is going on? Why is everyone whispering?”
Aiden laughed. “Why do you think? Haven't you heard? Apparently yesterday some fresh group made up of mostly level 1 Guild trainees faced down a Glimmerhide and survived. It's all anyone has been talking about all morning. We've barely gotten a chance to eat with everyone coming up to talk to us.”
Someone stopped at their table just to introduce themselves to the group and M'redith in particular. The man didn't flirt but treated her as if they were at a job interview and she was the boss. He introduced himself as Lomez and let the table know that he wouldn't graduate until a few weeks after they did but if they ever needed a melee dps for a group member he'd be glad to join them.
M'redith said thank you politely and nice to meet you and the man nodded his head and went back to his table. As the four ate others would approach them and offer their names and class types.
Jay made a confused face, “Has it been like this all morning? Why are they all introducing themselves?”
M'redith finally made the connection and her eyes widened for a moment. “They think we're a group. A real group – and they want to join.” She stared off in to the distance as her mind began to work out the implications for her and her friends – her group.
Aiden grinned and pointed at M'redith. “There ya go.”
Jay looked confused again. “Don't they know we're still in training? I don't understand.”
Surprisingly it was Norri that answered. “How do you think groups are created? Static groups I mean, the ones that stick together.”
Jay thought about it before admitting, “I thought you'd just collect people you got along well with until the group was full. I hadn't really thought about it since we're still in training.”
Norri nodded, “Well there are two main ways static groups form. Number one, they all talk among themselves and come to an agreement to work together.”
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Jay nodded while Aiden and M'redith listened and chewed their breakfast, M'redith still thinking with her brow furrowed.
“That sounds just like what I said only worded differently.” Jay said politely.
Norri smiled and nodded, “Yup. Or number two, circumstances force them to do something that makes everyone else think of them as a group.”
She went back to eating her hash browns and let Jay puzzle over that for a moment.
“So everyone is treating us like a group..” Jay began.
“..because we acted like one. In a very big, very showy way.” Aiden finished for him as he stole a strip of bacon off of Jay's plate and popped it in to his mouth. “Oh and that's not all. After yesterday's performance everyone has decided that M'redith is our group leader.”
M'redith opened her mouth to protest but Norri spoke first.
“And they already gave us a name,” Norri added with a bright smile. The group all turned to her. She blushed, “It's not that great a name but it's better than 'hey you.' Everyone is calling us the Glimmerhide Group.”
Aiden groaned, “Do they at least realize that we didn't kill it? Just fought it off for a bit?”
M'redith laughed, “I don't think anyone cares. Once people make up their mind they don't tend to let facts get in the way of a good opinion.”
Jay shook his head, “So.. what does this mean for us?”
The four looked at each other before Norri spoke. “Is there, you know, an us?”
Norri had been a recent addition to the group and had yet to quite figure out how she fit in. Jay, Aiden, and M'redith had already worked out how they fit together. Norri wanted to know if she was a temporary or a permanent addition to the group.
Jay had been impressed with her combat performance during the fight. “Everyone here fought well yesterday. I think if any one of us had not been there we might not have made it out. We could all take turns thanking each other for saving each other's lives but I think we all know we only survived because we worked as a group.”
Norri tilted her head, still not sure of her status.
Jay smiled, “Our group is a little different from other groups. We'll fill you in as we go along. We'd be happy to have you join us though.”
Aiden grinned, “Don't worry Norri. If you want to be part of the group you're in. As long as that is ok with our group leader,” he teased.
M'redith groaned, “I never claimed to be the leader! We always talk everything out between us!”
Aiden continued to tease her and Norri grinned happily with the knowledge that she had found her group. Completely by accident and with zero planning – but she had found it nonetheless.
Once Aiden got tired of teasing M'redith he refocused on his last remaining doughnut and took happy bites out of it. He was uninjured, dry, fed, alive, and had just about everything he needed at that moment in time.
M'redith leaned up against Jay's right arm. “Looks like you might not have to worry about us forming a group after all – it was done for us.”
Jay nodded, “Do we have to do anything else to make it official?”
M'redith answered easily, “We can register it with the Guild as long as we have four members. I'm not sure if we can do that as trainees but no one else seems to care about that niggling detail right now.”
Aiden paused his chewing to speak up, “No one wants to break up a popular group, especially one that works well. Although we're mostly level 1 we survived a monster that could easily kill higher leveled full groups. That counts for a lot when it comes to forming a static group.”
Jay grinned, “It's nice having someone else be the center of attention for a change.” He looked over as another person, this one a younger girl, approached to speak with M'redith and introduce herself. M'redith was kind and polite and the girl left smiling.
“Should I be writing everyone's names down or something?” M'redith finally asked after another person had approached and introduced themselves to her.
Aiden shrugged, “Sure if you want. If we first figured out what we want for a 5th group member that would make it easier to figure out whose name to make a note of though.”
M'redith looked at Jay as did Aiden and Norri. Jay took a moment to think before he gave his opinion, “We don't need a 5th member yet. It'd be nice to have but it really isn't necessary. We can easily fill the open spot with a volunteer, what with everyone looking for a full group to join. Why not just leave the spot open until we're sure about the person – you know, like we are with Norri.”
Norri grinned happily and swung her feet back and forth in her chair happily, “Thanks!” she said.
“Crap, we need to head to class,” Aiden said.
Norri made an excited sound before she hopped down off of her chair and picked up everyone's trays in to a pile before taking them up to the counter.
“I like her.” Aiden said.
“Me too,” replied M'redith, “she's got a great attitude.”
Jay smiled, “Everyone keeps staring. I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm looking forward to class just to get away from all of this murmuring.” He leaned to his right and put his arm around M'redith's shoulders and she leaned in to him.
Aiden looked over at the two of them, “Don't forget, we're running the Church training dungeon tomorrow. Get your practice in today while you can.”
M'redith pulled away from Jay slightly and turned to him, “Has Walter reached out to you yet?”
Jay shook his head, “No, why? Should he have?”
M'redith shrugged and leaned back against his arm, “He's used you every weekend so far to do a dungeon run, I just thought this weekend would follow the same pattern.”
It was Jay's turn to shrug, “There's still time before the weekend.”
Norri returned to the table and everyone stood up and stretched. The murmuring about them quieted for a moment as M'redith led the group out of the dining hall – the other diners moving out of her way and whispering as she did so.
The diners returned to eating as the Glimmerhide Group walked out in to the sunlit morning and took the direct route to class.
A slender staff stood alone across the street from the dining hall's entrance and watched them as they went by.