Benjamin Harrison Campfire - Late Wednesday Evening

[guardianborn]

Five days since Rose had seen Lissa, and that was longer than she remembered since they'd met sitting next to each other in kindergarten.  When she was by herself, she couldn't stop mentally poking at that oddly blank spot in her head where Lissa was supposed to be.  Every once and a while, Rose could almost feel a whisper of emotion from the spot

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[formerbrat]

Elspeth returned from a late evening ride with Gwena and sat down at the campfire. "Has the bread gone bad?" she asked, curious.

[guardianborn]

Rose looked up then shook her head ruefully. "Nah, it's evil bread," she said lightly. "Looked at me funny."

[formerbrat]

"Then it's getting its just due," Elspeth smiled. "I'm Elspeth, by the way."

[guardianborn]

She smiled back and offered Elspeth a piece. "Would you like to kick its butt too? And I'm Rose. You're in this cabin too, right?"

[formerbrat]

"No, I won't deny you your vengeance," Elspeth said. "Nice to meet you, Rose. I'm in alcove A2."

[guardianborn]

"You're too kind, and it's nice to meet you too," Rose said, remembering her manners. "Not just because you're too kind. I'm on the other side in B4."

[formerbrat]

"Are you one of the new students as well?" Elspeth asked.

[guardianborn]

Rose nodded. "Sometimes I wonder if there's more of us than old students," she commented. "At least I feel like I'm meeting more new ones."

[formerbrat]

"Probably the old ones aren't wandering around feeling desperately lost like the new ones," Elspeth smiled.

[guardianborn]

"Okay, that's fair enough," Rose laughed. "So we're only running into others like us cause everyone else is pointing and laughing?"

[formerbrat]

Elspeth laughed. "I didn't say that! But that might explain it. Are you from a place like this?"

[guardianborn]

"Is there any place like this?" she asked, making a face at Elspeth. "But I'm from the same country. Used to go to a boarding school out in Montana."

[formerbrat]

"I don't know where that is," Elspeth admitted. "I'm from Valdemar, which very few people here have even heard of."

[guardianborn]

"I haven't," Rose said with a shrug. "Montana's west of here. Waaaaaay west of here where there are only cows and prairie and mountains." She tilted her head. "What's Valdemar like?"

[formerbrat]

"It's... familiar," Elspeth sighed. "Our lanterns burn oil instead of lightning. We have only one Queen at a time and murder is illegal."

[guardianborn]

Rose tilted her head. "Where isn't murder illegal?" she couldn't help asking.