Room 204 [lunchtime]
Ben had been slightly worried when Ender hadn't shown up for class, and more so when he'd taken their traditional coffees to an empty Stark's.
He trotted back to the dorms, wondering if Ender had come down with something--it wasn't like him to just skip out on class or work--and felt the hair on the back of his neck rise as he approached their room. He could tell already that no one was home, but he opened the door anyway.
Both coffees hit the floor when he saw the note.
He ignored the "don't worry" and the thing about Caligula, focusing instead on "eye of the storm."
Ender was gone, disappearing like Val had. Ben shoved aside a furious--and pointless--surge of hate for Graff. There was no proof it was his fault.
Yet.
He stared at the piece of paper for a long while, hoping that maybe rereading it a few thousand more times would help him to understand what the hell Ender was doing.
He'd forgotten to close the door behind him.
Ben wasn't the only one on the floor who could sense emotions. And Karla didn't like the ones she could feel roiling around in Ben now. Which was perhaps even less disturbing than the fact that she could sense him at all--Ben wasn't the type for oversharing, and it usually took some work to sense him when she was close to him, never mind down the hall.
All of which added up to one concerned Karla knocking on the doorjamb to his room. She could see Ben, standing in a pool of spreading coffee, reading a note. "Ben?" she called, vanishing the coffee cups and calling in some rags at his feet. "Is everything okay? Is Tahiri?"
Ben jumped--something else that rarely happened. "Ender left," he said, voice completely hollow.
Ben's jump had her narrowing her eyes and unconsciously raising her shields. There was something Very Not Right about this whole situation. "Left?" Karla asked, an edge in her voice that wasn't there previously. "What do you mean, 'left'?"
Worry and concern had her entering their room without an invitation; an action that was out of character for her. "Let me see," she said, holding her hand out for the note.
His hand clenched more tightly on the note. "You'll give it back?" he replied, for once looking as young as he was.
"Of course," Karla said softly, idly wondering for a moment if Ben actually understood just how important Ender was to him. "I just want to see it; he's my friend, too."
She took the note and read it. Then read it again. "What in the name of Hell kind of note is that?" His ride arrived quicker than anticipated? "He's been planning this?"
Ben nodded, still absolutely numb. "But I was pretty sure it wouldn't be until the summer at least. Not that Ender was going to run on my timetable, but..."
There was something about the note that made Karla uneasy. The hair on the back of her neck prickled and she was glad to hand the note back to Ben. Even without it, the disquieting feelings remained. Something in that note had caught the attention of her Black Widow senses and not in a good way.
Which was probably why it took so long for Ben's meaning to sink in. "But why??" Karla asked, looking stricken. "He hasn't even graduated yet!"
We weren't even close enough to merit a goodbye? she thought, but did not say.
The fingers of Ben's free hand were tracing along the edge of Ender's desk as he frowned. "Because a high school diploma was going to mean anything for Ender Wiggin," he said wryly.
He paused, then crouched down and yanked Ender's laptop out from under the bed. "But it doesn't make sense that he would've left his research behind," he murmured to himself, the hair on the back of his neck beginning to stand up.
"I have a bad feeling about this," he said in a more normal tone.
"Like it's going to mean anything to any of us," Karla retorted. "Between the three of us, I think we can all agree that we're not here at Fandom for the education."
She could have said more, but her attention was caught by Ben's find. "He left his research?" His clothing and school supplies, she could picture Ender leaving without a qualm. But not his research. She knelt down next to Ben. "So do I," she murmured in an undertone. "So do I."
"Okay, so I'm ignoring the part where I'm not supposed to worry," Ben said, standing back up. "There has to be a way to get in touch with Val around here somewhere."
"I have no idea why he even included that part," Karla muttered. "He must have known it'd be a waste of ink."
She rose to her feet, chewing on her bottom lip as she thought. "Do you think Val will have much more information than we do?"
"I think Val can get me a Portalocity trip to their dimension," Ben said, "and I can work from there."
Oh, Ben got a glare for that one. "You might want to rethink those pronouns."
If she had to convince Val to open up a portal ten seconds after Ben's left, she would. There was no way in Hell that Karla was staying behind for this.
Ben's mouth set in a stubborn line. "Why?" he demanded.
"Because you don't have a monopoly on caring about Ender," Karla flared.
That was her main reason, but she had a few others in case Ben needed to hear them. "Because I'm not going to sit here and wait like a good little girl while you both fling yourselves head-first into who knows what kind of danger. Because I'm smart, I'm useful, and I have skills you lack, And because, like you, I take care of my own."
"What does being a girl have to do with anything?" Ben asked.
Because now was an excellent time to deflect, Ben.
"Don't. Even. Try." Oh, Karla was not in the mood for this. After Ender came back, he and Ben could play Deflection-Repression until they turned blue for all she cared. Right now, though, they had better things to occupy their time with than childish games.
"I have a better question," Karla said flatly. "Why shouldn't I go? What is it about this situation that you feel would be better handled by you flying off half-cocked by yourself?" She closed the distance between them, glaring angrily.
And then softened. "This isn't about who loves Ender more, Ben. This isn't about who is closer to him, or which one of us is more his friend. That's you. It's not a competition, and even is it was, I'm so far behind I'd never be able to catch up. And I don't want to. I just want to help."
The note crunched in Ben's hand. "I'm not half-cocked," he said. "I'm...fully-cocked."
That had sounded less full of innuendo in his head.
"Fine," he said, shaking his head and ignoring the parts of her comment he didn't have the time or inclination to process. It was pointless to waste time arguing about this. "Help me look for Val's phone number."
Karla didn't even make a smart ass remark about that. Instead she called in her phone, scrolled down to Val's number and showed it to Ben. "Found it," she said mildly.
Sometimes, saying 'I told you so' just took away from the warmth of the moment.
Glaring at her was hardly productive, but Ben did it anyway. "Then call her," he said imperiously. "Let's hope she and Ender aren't halfway to another planet."
Though with all of Ender's stuff--such as it was--here, he really doubted it.
Oh please. Karla had been glared at for most of her life--and by people with far more experience. "If you'd like," she replied, hitting the send button.
"Ah, Val, good," Karla said into the phone. "We have some questions about your errant brother..."
As a testament to Valentine's efficiency, it didn't take the IF more than an hour or two to get them a flight through the Fandom portal and into Ender's universe.
The ride was a lot shorter than Ender had ever claimed it was. Two days later, the three of them were already in Brazil...
[OOC: Preplayed with the lovely glacial_witch. NFI, but OOC is loved and fed pie.]
He trotted back to the dorms, wondering if Ender had come down with something--it wasn't like him to just skip out on class or work--and felt the hair on the back of his neck rise as he approached their room. He could tell already that no one was home, but he opened the door anyway.
Both coffees hit the floor when he saw the note.
He ignored the "don't worry" and the thing about Caligula, focusing instead on "eye of the storm."
Ender was gone, disappearing like Val had. Ben shoved aside a furious--and pointless--surge of hate for Graff. There was no proof it was his fault.
Yet.
He stared at the piece of paper for a long while, hoping that maybe rereading it a few thousand more times would help him to understand what the hell Ender was doing.
He'd forgotten to close the door behind him.
Ben wasn't the only one on the floor who could sense emotions. And Karla didn't like the ones she could feel roiling around in Ben now. Which was perhaps even less disturbing than the fact that she could sense him at all--Ben wasn't the type for oversharing, and it usually took some work to sense him when she was close to him, never mind down the hall.
All of which added up to one concerned Karla knocking on the doorjamb to his room. She could see Ben, standing in a pool of spreading coffee, reading a note. "Ben?" she called, vanishing the coffee cups and calling in some rags at his feet. "Is everything okay? Is Tahiri?"
Ben jumped--something else that rarely happened. "Ender left," he said, voice completely hollow.
Ben's jump had her narrowing her eyes and unconsciously raising her shields. There was something Very Not Right about this whole situation. "Left?" Karla asked, an edge in her voice that wasn't there previously. "What do you mean, 'left'?"
Worry and concern had her entering their room without an invitation; an action that was out of character for her. "Let me see," she said, holding her hand out for the note.
His hand clenched more tightly on the note. "You'll give it back?" he replied, for once looking as young as he was.
"Of course," Karla said softly, idly wondering for a moment if Ben actually understood just how important Ender was to him. "I just want to see it; he's my friend, too."
She took the note and read it. Then read it again. "What in the name of Hell kind of note is that?" His ride arrived quicker than anticipated? "He's been planning this?"
Ben nodded, still absolutely numb. "But I was pretty sure it wouldn't be until the summer at least. Not that Ender was going to run on my timetable, but..."
There was something about the note that made Karla uneasy. The hair on the back of her neck prickled and she was glad to hand the note back to Ben. Even without it, the disquieting feelings remained. Something in that note had caught the attention of her Black Widow senses and not in a good way.
Which was probably why it took so long for Ben's meaning to sink in. "But why??" Karla asked, looking stricken. "He hasn't even graduated yet!"
We weren't even close enough to merit a goodbye? she thought, but did not say.
The fingers of Ben's free hand were tracing along the edge of Ender's desk as he frowned. "Because a high school diploma was going to mean anything for Ender Wiggin," he said wryly.
He paused, then crouched down and yanked Ender's laptop out from under the bed. "But it doesn't make sense that he would've left his research behind," he murmured to himself, the hair on the back of his neck beginning to stand up.
"I have a bad feeling about this," he said in a more normal tone.
"Like it's going to mean anything to any of us," Karla retorted. "Between the three of us, I think we can all agree that we're not here at Fandom for the education."
She could have said more, but her attention was caught by Ben's find. "He left his research?" His clothing and school supplies, she could picture Ender leaving without a qualm. But not his research. She knelt down next to Ben. "So do I," she murmured in an undertone. "So do I."
"Okay, so I'm ignoring the part where I'm not supposed to worry," Ben said, standing back up. "There has to be a way to get in touch with Val around here somewhere."
"I have no idea why he even included that part," Karla muttered. "He must have known it'd be a waste of ink."
She rose to her feet, chewing on her bottom lip as she thought. "Do you think Val will have much more information than we do?"
"I think Val can get me a Portalocity trip to their dimension," Ben said, "and I can work from there."
Oh, Ben got a glare for that one. "You might want to rethink those pronouns."
If she had to convince Val to open up a portal ten seconds after Ben's left, she would. There was no way in Hell that Karla was staying behind for this.
Ben's mouth set in a stubborn line. "Why?" he demanded.
"Because you don't have a monopoly on caring about Ender," Karla flared.
That was her main reason, but she had a few others in case Ben needed to hear them. "Because I'm not going to sit here and wait like a good little girl while you both fling yourselves head-first into who knows what kind of danger. Because I'm smart, I'm useful, and I have skills you lack, And because, like you, I take care of my own."
"What does being a girl have to do with anything?" Ben asked.
Because now was an excellent time to deflect, Ben.
"Don't. Even. Try." Oh, Karla was not in the mood for this. After Ender came back, he and Ben could play Deflection-Repression until they turned blue for all she cared. Right now, though, they had better things to occupy their time with than childish games.
"I have a better question," Karla said flatly. "Why shouldn't I go? What is it about this situation that you feel would be better handled by you flying off half-cocked by yourself?" She closed the distance between them, glaring angrily.
And then softened. "This isn't about who loves Ender more, Ben. This isn't about who is closer to him, or which one of us is more his friend. That's you. It's not a competition, and even is it was, I'm so far behind I'd never be able to catch up. And I don't want to. I just want to help."
The note crunched in Ben's hand. "I'm not half-cocked," he said. "I'm...fully-cocked."
That had sounded less full of innuendo in his head.
"Fine," he said, shaking his head and ignoring the parts of her comment he didn't have the time or inclination to process. It was pointless to waste time arguing about this. "Help me look for Val's phone number."
Karla didn't even make a smart ass remark about that. Instead she called in her phone, scrolled down to Val's number and showed it to Ben. "Found it," she said mildly.
Sometimes, saying 'I told you so' just took away from the warmth of the moment.
Glaring at her was hardly productive, but Ben did it anyway. "Then call her," he said imperiously. "Let's hope she and Ender aren't halfway to another planet."
Though with all of Ender's stuff--such as it was--here, he really doubted it.
Oh please. Karla had been glared at for most of her life--and by people with far more experience. "If you'd like," she replied, hitting the send button.
"Ah, Val, good," Karla said into the phone. "We have some questions about your errant brother..."
As a testament to Valentine's efficiency, it didn't take the IF more than an hour or two to get them a flight through the Fandom portal and into Ender's universe.
The ride was a lot shorter than Ender had ever claimed it was. Two days later, the three of them were already in Brazil...
[OOC: Preplayed with the lovely glacial_witch. NFI, but OOC is loved and fed pie.]