The Doll pushed the door back open to history class, prepared for the last few minutes of this farce of a class. Though The Doll did suppose this typical annoyance did work in her favor, as she could use this limited time to discuss these new private lessons with Malina and Lila. This was also a chance to find out what Malina discussed with the headmaster, assuming her willingness to speak about it.
Stepping into the classroom The Doll immediately scanned the room for Malina and Lila, finding them in the back of the class in the same place they were when The Doll left. Speaking to the two of them was Richard, who walked away after Malina waved her hand and said something The Doll couldn't hear from this distance.
Slightly curious as to what Richard would want, The Doll walked over to the two and asked, “What was that about?” The Doll figured that this would also serve as a good conversation starter rather than immediately divulging what the headmaster told her.
Responding to The Doll, Lila stammered out, “H-He just wanted to include us with the rest of the class.” Lila looked over to Malina after saying this.
Following Lila’s gaze The Doll also looked towards Malina, who stretched her arms upwards and said, “Goody two shoes was bothering us, so I told him to leave.” A yawn followed this statement as if discussing this was boring Malina in her tired state.
Lila looked at her desk and said in a barely audible voice, “You actually yawned in the middle of his invasion and told him he was dismissed.” The Doll supposed this was rude, but nothing too out of the ordinary for Malina.
Malina rolled her eyes and said, “He isn't worth my respect; he's always sucking up to the teachers and doing whatever they say.” After saying this, Malina allowed her head to fall onto the desk, staring at The Doll seemingly not noticing the hypocrisy in this statement.
Shockingly unwilling to let this go, Lila said, "He-He's just trying to be nice.” Malina shifted her exhausted gaze over to Lila, seemingly as shocked as The Doll by her continuing this conversation.
The Doll didn't think that Lila would have the confidence to bring this to a full argument but not wanting to take the risk The Doll changed the subject. “What did you talk about with the headmaster?” The Doll directed this question to Malina, hoping this would be a sufficient question to avoid the unnecessary waste of time an argument would bring.
Malina flicked her gaze back to The Doll and dismissively waved her hand, saying, “Nothing important.” It seemed Malina wouldn't talk about this further without The Doll incentivizing her to elaborate.
Intensifying her gaze on Malina The Doll said, "Malina, I need to know what the headmaster told you.” The Doll purposefully softened her gaze as she continued to speak, “We both know he has something planned for me, and it could relate to what he told you.” The Doll hoped that making the conversation about her well-being would convince Malina to talk.
It was only now that The Doll realized there wasn't a proper reason for why she wanted to know what the headmaster told Malina. The Doll told Malina it was because it could relate to her problem with the duel, but she knew that was unlikely. This meant that The Doll lacked a practical reason. Typically if The Doll ever lacked a practical reason for something, she would usually claim it was simple curiosity. But The Doll knew better than to explore curiosity; it was a distraction from what was important.
Before The Doll could formulate a reason for herself, Malina smiled and said, "Well, if it's so important to you, Dollie, I guess I could tell you.” Malina yawned before continuing, “He just offered to fill my magic up all the way, and I refused this offer.” This explanation left The Doll feeling confused. The Doll didn't know much about magic, but she did know that even somebody completely out of magic to the point of backlash had it fully refilled within a few hours.
Lila looked up from the table and towards Malina very quickly upon hearing this, “Wh-What do you mean fill up your magic? Su-Such a thing isn't possible for somebody to do, and even if it was, you shouldn't need the offer." Lila looked back down at the table and added on, “So-sorry to speak out of turn, Lady Regius.” It seemed that Lila was back to her typical timid self.
Malina gave a slight smile and said, “You can ask as many questions as you want, Shyla.” The Doll noticed Malina's smile grow slightly wider before she answered Lila’s question, “He had a rune that was stored with magic that he thought would be enough to fill up my magic completely.” The Doll supposed that such a thing could be possible, but the time it would take for an object to naturally condense that much magic would make the process pointless with how fast people typically regain magic.
Lila began to sputter something else out, likely thinking a similar thing to The Doll but Malina interrupted her, “He was wrong, though it would have brought me pretty close.” Malina flicked her eyes over to Lila as she said this last part.
After saying this, Malina shifted her gaze back to The Doll and looked ready to shift the subject to The Doll’s conversation with the headmaster. Lila, however, didn't seem keen to drop this subject yet with her awkward shifting in her chair that indicated a clear want for more elaboration. Taking pity on Lila The Doll voiced what was most likely to be her question, “But that still doesn't explain why you needed your magic filled up.” Lila stopped her awkward movements after The Doll stated this.
Malina groaned immediately after The Doll said this, burying her head fully in the table before slowly looking up and scanning the room. Seemingly satisfied by whatever she saw, Malina lowered her voice and said, “My magic is never full.” The quietness of Malina's voice made it clear this was meant to be a secret.
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Lila put her hands on the table, ready to let out one of her outbursts The Doll braced herself for the pain that was about to befall her ears. Anticipating what would inevitably come next, Malina lurched forward in a burst of energy that didn't fit her exhausted state, bringing her hand up to cover Lila's mouth. Instead of the scream that would typically come from Lila, all The Doll heard was muffled noise.
Slumping back down, Malina pulled her hand off Lila’s mouth, revealing her face, which had dropped to a significantly darker tone than normal. Bringing her hand back up to her face, Malina grinned and said, “Normally I wouldn't complain about you spitting in my hand, but given the context.” Malina wiped her hand on the side of her uniform and brought her finger up to her lips. "Let's keep my secret quiet," Malina added on with a wink.
Lila's face darkened even more while she wordlessly nodded in agreement with Malina, her eyes hyperfocused on Malina. The Doll felt an uncomfortable feeling rise up in her chest as she coughed and quietly asked, “Why is your magic never full?” For some reason, The Doll’s tone came out in a less controlled manner than usual.
Malina's smile widened before quickly dropping as she seemingly entered deep thought. After a moment of this thought, Malina finally said, “Most people have a magic pool the size of a goblet that gets refilled by another goblet. Mine is more like an ocean that gets refilled by a goblet.” Malina looked distinctly smug as she said this, clearly proud of her large magic pool.
A pit formed within The Doll as Malina said this. The Doll couldn't use any magic; her magic pool would be akin to an empty hole per Malina's analogy, but Malina she had so much magic it would take theoretically days to refill slightly. The Doll could never imagine what that felt like.
It—it was…
The Doll pushed these thoughts down and asked the obvious question while Lila still sat in silence, face dark, “Why would you refuse the offer to fill your magic then?” It was clear to The Doll now that Malina's exhaustion was most likely caused by a combination of low magic levels and how slowly her magic filled comparatively. But if that was the case, a rune like the headmaster offered could be the perfect solution.
The smug face Malina had dropped after The Doll asked this being replaced by an awkward shuffle and silence. It seemed as though The Doll wouldn't get an answer to this question until Lila quietly mumbled, seemingly breaking out of her trance-like state, “Ma-Magic sickness?” The statement came out in a questioning tone as if Lila was guessing. The Doll did her best to hide the confusion she felt upon hearing the term.
Wordlessly Malina nodded, motioning for Lila to continue explaining, likely guessing The Doll didn't know what this was. “No—Normally people only contract it from being in mana zones for too long due to the exposure to excess magic.” As Lila spoke The Doll noticed her voice getting more confident. “But your full magic pool is too large for your body to handle, so you get sick when it's full. To manage it, you would have to always keep your magic at a certain level even while asleep.” After finishing this explanation, Lila’s eyes dropped down, clearly feeling bad for Malina.
Despite The Doll’s inability to use magic, she could understand the implication of what Lila was saying. In order to constantly drain magic, Malina would have to keep a spell of some kind active at any moment her magic was at the right level. This would to The Doll’s limited knowledge require an inhuman amount of focus to maintain.
At least she could use magic.
The thought crept into The Doll’s head before she could stop it. The Doll immediately felt a wave of guilt wash over her for thinking this. This was a wrong thought. The Doll knew she should feel bad for Malina, doubly so because the two were close, yet she still couldn't stop the thought.
Malina's expression exposed a small smile as she said, "You're very smart, Shyla.” Malina yawned and added on, “But you also could have just said it was because I don't like him, and you would have still been right.” Malina brought her hand up to her mouth and giggled after saying this.
It was clear that Malina was trying to lighten the mood now despite her tiredness, but Lila still asked, “But how do you keep your magic at the right level?” Sensing her mistake in continuing to pry, Lila apologetically backed down and said, "So—sorry, I apologize for the inappropriate question.” Her apology seemed genuine to The Doll.
In response Malina sighed but didn't scold Lila, instead pointing up to her hair accessories and saying, “Normally I just use my magic force the wind to keep my hair in its normal style, but I need to let my magic fill back up sooooo.” Malina then looked over to The Doll and said, “Besides, I think they look pretty, so it works out.” Following this statement was another high-pitched giggle from Malina.
The Doll preferred Malina's unstyled hair but found no reason to mention this.
It looked as though Lila was about to ask another question despite herself, but Malina interrupted her, “That's enough about me; let's talk about Dollie.” Malina followed this with a yawn and said, “Talking about myself can be exhausting.” Lila looked to The Doll clearly indicating that she had no plan to ask her follow-up question to Malina.
The Doll supposed this would be an appropriate time to tell them about the new lessons, especially after Malina just told the two so much. Underneath The Doll's sleeve, her cut itched an increasing amount as The Doll thought about revealing it to the two. Revealing the cut would be necessary if she told the two about the lessons, considering it was likely Madame Aziza would touch on the strings that covered the cut.
For a moment The Doll thought about hiding it, but she knew that she had to trust the two of them, so instead she said, “Before I tell you about my discussion with the headmaster, I need to show the two of you something.” After saying this The Doll took a deep breath and pulled down the sleeve that hid her cut.
Malina reacted immediately, grabbing The Doll’s wrist. “What happened? Did the headmaster hurt you?” Malina's voice was laced with a mix of both concern and panic as she tightened her grip on The Doll’s arm.
The Doll gave her best reassuring smile and said, "No, he didn't, but that's not what's important; these black strings are they se—" Malina interrupted The Doll before she could finish speaking.
With a confusion evident on her face, Malina asked, “What strings? Does this have to do with The Strings thing inside you?” Malina's grip didn't loosen on The Dolls arm as she said this, evidently still concerned.
Lila looked at Malina with an equally confused expression. “Th-Those weird strings on her wrist, Lady Regius.” As Malina said this, she pointed her finger at the cut where the strings were.
Malina's confused expression didn't drop as she turned to look at Lila and once again asked, “What weird strings?” It seemed as though Malina genuinely had no idea what The Doll and Lila were talking about.
This complicated things.