Concerned for a Friend

[Susan Matthews]

Finishing up with her Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Susan made haste in gathering her things to leave. She said a quick good-bye to the the friends she was sitting by and headed to the door. Susan had her mind made up that she would speak with D'rorah after class. In her rush and with the hustle of the class, she wasn't sure if she'd already left. She knew D'rorah wasn't one to waste time. With all of her things in tow, Susan rushed to the exit of the class room. Glancing down the halls, Susan saw many students now leaving their classrooms heading toward their next classes.

With a quick sweep in both directions, Susan could not find the tall blond Ravenclaw. Susan was relieved, D'rorah must be still in the room, she thought. Dylan's absence today in class had unnerved Susan greatly. She had tried to ignore the fact that something was wrong when he had not appeared at the masquerade. She had tried to tell herself that everything was alright. Her brain would lie to her, making up excuses. The whole concept made h er heart beat faster, her stomach churn, and it even began to maker her feel feel a little light headed.

Catching her breath, and forcing herself to remain calm, Susan leaned against the stone wall along the third floor corridor. She smiled weakly at a few of her peers as they left the class. Catching sight of D'rorah, Susan straightened up again. She adjusted her body language in a way that affirmed she wanted to talk. As hard as she tried, she couldn't keep a look of concern from projecting off her face. She knew it wasn't a very attractive look, but it stuck. Susan only hoped that after speaking with D'rorah the look, the feeling, would leave.

Susan raised her head and spoke quickly in her direction, "D'rorah, may I speak with you?"

[D'rorah Philosophy]

D'rorah had gathered her things a bit more slowly than usual. The concerns which had weighed so heavily on her mind seemed to weight her limbs a bit, causing her normal mode of efficiency to be slightly diminished. She made her way from the classroom without stopping to speak with any of her fellow classmates. That really wasn't so unusual. She was not what anyone would call a social person. She was therefore a bit surprised to see Susan in the hallway, apparently waiting for her. When she spoke, D'rorah knew with almost immediate certainty that she would be asking about Dylan. She knew how unnerving the absence of her own Elemental Master, Mordred had been; so the concern she saw written on Susan's face was quite understandable.

"Certainly, Miss Matthews. Perhaps it would be best to do so in a somewhat more private setting." She waited to make sure no one was watching, waiting so see what business the two girls might have together. She led the way to an unused classroom, empty except for a few randomly scattered desks. Once they were both securely inside the room, D'rorah crossed to a dusty window which looked out over the grounds. "I assume you would like to ask after Mister Cooper. Rest assured, he is currently resting and seems to be recovering quite nicely."

She didn't elaborate much, assuming that Susan would have known the stronger details of Dylan's attack from their connection as Elemental Master and Shadow Warrior. She was forgetting, however, that Susan and Dylan had not yet joined as Elemental Master and Warrior... the fact that Susan had not endured a major trauma as the other Shadow Warriors had, had made an immediate joining unnecessary.

[Susan Matthews]

Susan subtlety nodded in agreement at the plan to head somewhere more private. Without objection, Susan followed D'rorah to a nearby unoccupied class room. As she entered the room, she gently closed the door behind her. Susan had a numerous string of questions to ask, but as she opened her mouth to speak, D'rorah had already begun.

D'rorah's assumptions had been correct. Susan was here to inquire on Dylan. D'rorah's initial explanation left her even more confused than ever. It was the word "recovering" that caused a lump in her throat to form. The word that meant something horrible had happened. Susan swallowed the lump as best she could and tried to retrieve one of the questions she'd rehearsed earlier.

"I . . . What . . . Who?" All of the lengthy and complete sentences that had been on the tip of her tongue only moments earlier had now dissipated. Susan rested her hand on a nearby chair for support. The way D'rorah was speaking, it was as if she expected Susan to know the details, or something along those lines. Her thoughts swelled on the one thing that separated her from the other Shadow Warriors. Susan had yet to be traumatized. A pang of jealousy hit her. Though she knew that it was nothing to want, to desire, she could help but feel like the out-man-out.

Susan cleared her throat and spoke as smoothly as she could, "Can I see him? I mean . . . is he in the hospital wing?" She glanced down as she felt her hand go numb. She quickly released the chair. Unknowingly, it seemed she had gripped the chair so tight that she had begun to loose circulation. She flexed her fingers apprehensively, watching the whiteness of her knuckles slowly fade.

[D'rorah Philosophy]

At Susan's reaction, D'rorah paused. Obviously, Susan did not know about Dylan's injuries. In fact, she had seemed quite surprised to hear that he was in the infirmary. It dawned on her then, the reason why. "Of course, I am certain he would be quite happy to see you, Miss Matthews," she replied. "My apologies. I did not consider the fact that you were unaware of his injuries." She looked at Susan with an appraising eye. "You need to join with him. The link between Elemental Master and Shadow Warrior offers a very useful method of communication. You can join even though you have not..." she trailed for a moment. "I did not push a formal bonding before because of your lack of a traumatizing experience, because the bonding was not technically necessary. However, upon review of that decision I feel it might be best to have you two bonded as soon as Mister Cooper is able to withstand the mental stress of such an action. But yes, he is in the hospital wing, resting quite comfortably."

She waited for a response, knowing that she had just said rather a lot all at once, and certain that Susan would have questions. She herself had a few questions and concerns lurking in her mind... and a pang of guilt. If only Susan and Dylan had been joined before, this latest attack might have never happened... or at least, they might have been able to intervene before it had gone so far. That was all the thought it took for D'rorah's guilt to grow by leaps and bounds, making her quite angry with her oversight of the bonding of Shadow Warrior and Elemental Master of Earth.

[Susan Matthews]

Susan breathed a little easier at the mention that Dylan would be most likely be "happy". She knew he'd been through a lot lately, and this ordeal was probably not helping much. She let the new information that D'rorah provided sink in. There was still so much she needed to learn about this Lightfighter business. Susan scolded herself inwardly for not being prepared for something like this. Maybe if she'd paid more attention, maybe if she hadn't been as careless and so carefree. So many emotions swirled through her mind as she tried to compose herself.

"Thank you," Susan replied sincerely, "I think I will." Susan had already mapped out the quickest path to the hospital wing, considering the staircases were in the most convenient positions. She didn't mean to cut their meeting so short, but she was eager to see Dylan.

"I'll catch up you with soon," Susan shot D'rorah a quick smile filled with gratitude. With a free period ahead of her, Susan headed for the door of the unoccupied classroom. With a few small steps, Susan was once again in the third floor corridor. The halls had cleared some in the few minutes they'd spent in the classroom. She didn't wait to see if D'rorah was following her, but headed in the direction she'd planned, to the hospital wing.