A Coalition Story

Repercussions of the Repercussions

"How'd it go?" Torin asked, walking into Ravyn's room. He had a feeling she'd be there since she hadn't come back to lunch and had apparently skipped her afternoon classes.

"Let's not talk about that, Tori. Let's drink," she suggested, already buzzed. She hadn't had too much, but she had had tequila shots, so that was a thing.

Her best friend sighed, shutting the door behind him and taking a seat at her desk.

"What did Excalibur do to you, Ravyn?" His tone, firm but gentle, made her want to spill exactly what Cal had said. That she deserved to be killed by her husband, suffer the fate of her mother and the wrath of the Coalition's systems. But no, Torin could never find out about that. It would start to kill his love for Cal, and as much as she hated her cousin right then, she knew that he needed her best friend and vice versa. They were the closest thing to soulmates she'd ever seen.

"Ravyn," Torin spoke, bristling, "what happened between you and Excalibur? Did he hurt you?" The venom in his voice surprised her. Torin really was protective of her, even to Cal. She hadn't seen that one coming, not to this degree.

"He didn't hit me, Tori, so back down. Do you want to do a shot with me? Or I could break out that whiskey I know you like that I keep stashed in my closet for you." Ravyn's voice, sickly sweet with bribery, only seemed to upset Torin more.

"Then what did he say, Ray? Because he did something. He clearly did or said something to hurt you, and I won't tolerate that." His voice began to raise as he spoke, shocking her completely. Ravyn had never seen Torin shout or scream or even raise his voice. He always, even when viciously angry, was calm. He never raised his volume. Until now.

"Chill. It's fine. He didn't hurt me. I'll be fine soon, okay?" This didn't satisfy Torin, who stood and paced the length of her small dorm.

"No, it's not fine. You're not going to be fine soon. You've never been a fan of day drinking, and you've never let Cal's antics and insanity drive you to drink before. He said something or did something, and I'm guessing it was what he said. What did he say to you, Ravyn?" Torin stopped, turning to stare her down from the far corner of her room over on Ksenia's side. She'd never admit it, but he was scaring her. His anger made her nervous. So she did the logical thing. She poured another shot. Raising it up, she mumbled a quiet "cheers" before downing it.

After recovering from the burn of the shot, she turned to Torin. Judging by his sad expression, one that seriously reminded her of a hurt puppy, he was not just pissed at her. She had straight up disappointed him. Was this the point where she lost Torin, too? It had been coming from the get go. People never lasted in Ravyn's life. Even her one constant, Cal, didn't last anymore. So it was probably Torin's time to go, too.

"You can leave, Tori, if that's what you want. Because Cal didn't do anything, okay? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. So go punch him or whatever if that'll make you happy, but I'm not gonna lie and say he hurt me." No, she wasn't technically lying. Cal hadn't hurt her. He'd absolutely shattered any relationship they had left. Any relationship she had left with anyone. Now all she had to do was wait for Daddy Dearest to marry her off so she could fulfill her fate.

Ravyn looked up to Torin, staring him down as she picked the tequila bottle up again and took a sip.

"Bye bye, Tori," she spoke in a voice that was hoarse from the alcoholic burn. He left, and she knew she was officially completely alone.