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Normally, in this situation, Ayda would have either asked what was going on or suffered in silent ignorance. It was one of those days when every member of the bad kids were acting off in the lunchroom. Something was going on in the way that people were eating their sandwiches and looking at each other, but of course, she could never place what. She was sitting next to Fig, who was making a face as well. Was she mad at her? If she was, she didn’t know why. She didn’t think she was mad at her. She more looked, um… disappointed? Annoyed? Fabian was angry, that much she could put together - he was the most obvious one at the table. Riz and Gorgug were looking at each other too, looking… sad, maybe? She didn’t dare speak, since nobody else was - she only came to lunch to see her friends and say hi to her dad as it was, she couldn’t risk the socially weird place she was in to be able to eat with them. But she recalled then - there was something she could do.
The noise of the lunchroom was just quiet enough to cover up the incantation she muttered gingerly under her breath in Elvish, and under the table she spun her hands around, weaving complex sigils and markings into the air. A soft blue light radiated over her lap from the runes, more brilliant and less fiery than her usual magic, and a similar blue glistened for a moment over her eyes, before disappearing. Just as soon, a cheerful, ethereal voice appeared in her ear. It was Adaine’s.
“What’s up, dude! This is the manifestation of the Ayda’s Comprehend Subtext spell, based on the voice of Adaine O’Shaughnessey, super cool wizard! Let’s unpack the situation, shall we?” Ayda looked up and around the table. Suddenly, filaments of all different colors were darting around, connecting everyone in the cafeteria. The bad kids quickly developed colored auras, ones which occasionally seeped out away from them across the ziplines between them and tinted the colors of others. Despite the fact that they were only colors, she knew very well what they meant. It wasn’t quite as simple as ‘red for anger, yellow for happiness’ - the shade had a lot to do with it too, and made a world of difference. That said, she quickly picked up on the fact that the sickly yellow-orange around Fig stood for anxiety, the dark navy blue around Riz and Gorgug stood for worry, and the maroon red mixed in with flashes of thick purple stood for a bitter, upset anger. The red, she realized, was not only coming off of him, but was being shot at him, as if by lasers.
She looked across the cafeteria subtly. There was Aelwyn, eating with a group of seniors and scowling directly at him, before returning to her food. She was a much hotter red and orange. The voice of the spell spoke up again. “ Aelwyn is very angry with Fabian! As it stands, it seems that Fabian is angry as well, but he seems a little upset too. Take care to notice the subtle blues around him, and the way he refuses to speak about the situation. He is guilty about what has happened, and considers the debacle to be his fault.”
Oh, I see, thought Adaine to herself. She had to be careful not to stare - she had never been able to decode so much from minute changes in behavior and facial expressions. As soon as the spell said it, Fabian’s angry, prideful guilt couldn’t have been more obvious. His arms were crossed, his lunch untouched, refusing to make eye contact with any of the bad kids. He was surrounded by a stormy cloud of reds, purples, and flecks of cobalt blue.
Careful not to stare, Ayda looked to the rest of the bad kids, all of whom were silent. What about them? she thought
“ Let’s take a look!” Ayda looked to Riz and Gorgug, who were exchanging a look. “Gorgug and Riz seem to be worried about Fabian. It seems he’s spoken to them before, or given them some reason to be worried.” She turned then to Adaine, who was a royaling red as she picked sharply at her lunch. “ Adaine is very cool, and very annoyed because she feels that she predicted events similar to these, and that nobody listened to her to begin with. It’s likely she’s heard parts of both Fabian and Aelwin’s sides of the stories, or that she just knows them because of her cool oracle powers! By the way, I am designed to cool Adaine cool at every possible opportunity.”
I will agree, she is very cool, Ayda thought to the spell.
“I am designed to agree!” the spell went on cheerily. Ayda turned then to Kristen and Fig, Fig who was an orange shade as she pretended to be on her phone, and Kristen who was alight with yellows and bright cerulean blues that she read as anxious curiosity. “Fig is feeling concerned about the events, but she seems to know very little about them, and is attempting not to get involved. The best approximation of her feelings right now is the word: ‘yikes!’. As for Kristen, she also knows very little, but is trying very hard to get involved. Notice that she attempted to make eye contact with Adaine, who ignored her. She then moved onto Gorgug, who shut his eyes and shook his head. This gesture translates approximately to ‘it’s some bullshit, but we’ll talk about it later.’”
Ayda nodded in understanding. So Aelwyn and Fabian were fighting. Fabian felt it was his fault and mentioned something to Riz and Gorgug, who were worried about him, but nothing to Kristen and Fig, who were uncomfortable because of the social tension. And Adaine was annoyed because she hated the idea of them together to begin with - of course. Ayda reminded herself to do something extremely nice for Adaine in return for this spell, which had ended up a godsend.
She thought to the spell again. I understand that this spell is designed only to perceive subtext, but is there any way for you to recommend a social move from here that would be considered… normal or, perhaps even helpful?
“Hm… that’s a tricky one!” the spell exclaimed, “ This situation is very uncomfortable for everyone. Addressing it aloud with everyone around is likely to make Fabian defensive and angry, which is not a desirable outcome. However, the tension at the table is forbidding people from speaking, as they all know what is wrong but also are attempting not to upset Fabian, or Adaine for that matter, as she is also very annoyed. If possible, the best thing to do now would be to begin a conversation about something entirely different! From there, it is very unlikely that Fabian or Adaine will join in, but you mustn’t ask them why they are not speaking! They will be content in being alone. In fact, you will notice that Fabian has closed his body language and avoided eye contact. He does not like all this attention on him - changing the subject would be a relief to him, and everyone at the table.”
Everyone at the table? thought Ayda, raising her eyebrows. This would be… a truly incredible feat.
“Go ahead, try it!”
Ayda puffed out her chest. Who to start with? Fig. She turned to her girlfriend,w ho was seated beside her, and spoke up. “Fig,” she said, “As I recall, you never shared with me the occurrences in your bard classes this morning. The teacher was being, as you’ve mentioned, ‘a real asshole’, and you did not specify why.”
Fig gave her a blank stare for a moment. She had mentioned that a while ago, but she blinked, trying to figure out why it was important. “It wasn’t like… that important,” she muttered.
She doesn’t understand, Ayda thought anxiously, I’ve done it wrong.
“Hope is not lost! Now, lower your head at her, raise your eyebrows, and look briefly at Fabian.”
Ayda did so exactly as instructed. Sure enough, Fig’s mouth formed an ‘o’ shape and she slowly nodded. “Right,” she said, “Yeah, you’re right, I didn’t tell that story, Riz, did I tell you about this?”
Riz looked up. His blue aura flickered a lighter shade of blue in confusion, before he processed what she was saying. “Uh… no, I don’t think you did.”
“Oh. Okay, settle in, you guys aren’t gonna believe this bullshit.”
In minutes, no, mere seconds, the colors around Adaine had calmed somewhat, still a red but a softer, lighter red, and Gorgug, Riz, and Kristen had been almost completely distracted by the story, which turned like a spark into a flame into a full conversation. Only Fabian was left still sulking, but notes of anxiety left his form. He loosened, and ate his lunch. By the time Riz was demanding why Fig didn’t just call another teacher through a voice full of laughter, Fabian made eye contact with Ayda just for a moment, grimacing, and then looking away.
“Good news!” the spell said, “That look was meant to convey gratitude! Fabian is relieved that all of the attention is no longer on him, and he recognizes that you made a conscious action to remedy the situation! Go on, smile and nod at him softly to acknowledge his thanks!”
Thrill rushing up through her chest, Ayda struggled to keep her movements subtle. She smiled, nodded at Fabian, and then hurriedly turned back to Fig’s story. She tented her fingers under the table, thinking towards the spell.
This has been an unimaginable success, she thought passionately, I knew Adaine was powerful, but this is a level of magic of which I have not conceived. She truly is the greatest wizard of all time!
“You’re darn right, dude!”
Adaine smiled at herself, charmed by the tone of Adaine’s voice, even if it wasn’t really her. She glanced over at the real Adaine, still angry, but a little better. She’d have to fix more of this later, she thought, and help them with their feelings in other ways. With this spell, she was unstoppable. I thank you for your service Comprehend Subtext spell, and I now dismiss you from my mind, she commanded.
“See you next time you need me!” the voice said. With a rush, the colors that filled the cafeterias were swept away like sand. The blue flashed over Ayda’s eyes again, then fizzled away, and everything was as it was, just as clueless as it was before. Kristen and Riz had devolved into a joking fight about what the right thing to do was when kids got into a fight in school, and Fig was squeezing her hand.
“That was really smart!” she whispered, impressed.
“Thank you, my paramour, but I cannot take the credit,” she said, pride swelling in her chest, “Ayda’s Comprehend Subtext is truly a magnificent work of spellcraft.”