and so the blessed maiden speaks! her glorious announcement - glorious despite the few stutters!! - caught the professor's attention just as julio's. he hadn't been expecting it but neither did the professor. was this a sign in the change in the tides? a magnificent turnabout? all at the hands of this young heroine! it was an opportunity julio leapt on. a new ally had entered the fray!

“and the young lass speaks! what a heartfelt testament, a glimmering window into the almighty truth of the situation,” vegas nodded sagely after that, his voice a scarce whisper then. for now he was quiet, and julio was entirely satisfied with the dramatic effect of his voice then. he made motions for her to come closer, though there was one thing to dismiss, “but she was not the culprit of the situation either! such would be an untruth.” which it was. obviously, he was surprised she wanted to take the fall - nay, vegas would never let such befall an innocent soul! and now the surprise had faded from the professor's face he seemed skeptical. julio's words didn't help and he found himself wincing a little as the professor spoke.

“how was it your fault?” was the poignant question delivered to the heroine. julio seemed prepared to answer for her but, after a sharp look from the professor who seemed prepared for that, he quietened immediately. miming zipping his lips, his eyes just went to his saviour, shifting his weight on his foot as both he and the professor expectedly looked at kaylee.

@kat / sry for the time and sorry for the horrible npc professor lAUGHS

julio was beaming intense approval by the time she finished her tale. what a noble act it had been indeed! granted, he would have used a few more - alright, a lot more - adjectives and adverbs. in fact, he maybe would have phrased it entirely differently but it was close enough to some form of testimony! a game-changer, the great decider in the verdict of this thrilling case. his eyes went back to the professor, something a bit pitiable on his face then but even if he found it hard to read what the professor was thinking just from his expression.

“thank you for clarifying, miss smith. just a moment if you will,” it seemed her words had at least convinced the professor of something. departing for a moment to go talk to the student she had indicated - not without shooting a warning look to julio, nodded, appearing to understand the implications.

or just didn't understand because a few moments after the professor started walking over, julio's eyes went from the back of the other to this mysterious ‘miss smith’ while grinning.

quickly, julio moved to take a hold of her hand, to pull her in closer to him and away from the the professor who already started talking. time was of the essence then! so when he started talking he was still making the conscious effort to be quiet for once, his voice low as he said softly, “may vegas know his alluring saviour's name?”

@kat

at last julio's saviour had a full name! an identity! he paid little attention to the fact she took back her hand, eager to continue on now that he had that information. first, he took a glance behind her before continuing. it was a quick check that the professor was still occupied but soon his eyes returned to her, repeating “kaylee smith! vegas shall commit a name to memory. after all, a noble soul is a soul one cannot ever forget.”

kaylee's question only got a laugh out of him - a loud, dramatic laugh which only draw the attention of the professor. but vegas paid that no heed for he only thought of the question as ridiculous, “was it not obvious? a hero always helps a person in need!”

“the same reason you did, no?”

julio probably would have continued on her reply had the professor not returned promptly once he heard the laugh. it had seemed whatever discussion he had with the other was over already. julio straightened his posture, attempting to subtly back away from kaylee in an attempt at playing innocent - as if he'd never pulled her over to question her. fairly unconvincing but the professor paid little attention to that. instead, the man was approaching this a different way, “are both of you aware that group work is critical in this seminar?”

a cryptic start given the professor's previous words; vegas had to be admit he was momentarily taken as confused. however, the relevance was clarified moments later, “for now, you two will be partnered for this next assignment.”

@kat

“i did say that, miss smith,” yet the circumstances had apparently changed. otherwise, the professor seemed reluctant to clarify much more or even give much away from the discussion he'd just got back from. and whilst he seemed to have some sympathy for kaylee, there was something else for him to say, “but given an apparent lack of teamwork, amongst other things, in this class, i've decided to assign groups.”

“and now that you have yours, do you have any further questions?” unwilling to budge, the professor stood determined; it seemed julio opened his mouth to protest but promptly closed it. at the very least, conflict raged in his soul, dissent seethed in his heart; kaylee's words of protest weren't lost on him! or maybe it was hard to agree with something such as this when another fabled warrior seemed completely panicked over the prospect. was it guilt he felt? had vegas ruptured the very fabric of time with his moves? or, if he had to phrase it a more down-to-earth way, julio guessed he'd been a dick.

yet it wasn't too tragic that they were being put together, was it? fate had that manner of working in mysterious ways. besides, he couldn't help but remember what julio had been trying to get across, a “please go easy on me i really want an a in this class”. perhaps kaylee's feeble cries of disapproval were all for naught but the good kind of all for naught... somehow

“no objections from vegas,” he supplied, initially looking to the professor but returning his eyes to kaylee soon enough. he was grinning again but it was a little forced. he just hoped she'd go along with it.

@kat