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"It's been a long week," Seth complained, stealing one of Levia's fries. Levia stole one of his fries in turn, and Lich sighed.
"You're telling me. My students have all been so stressed lately— Nyx even passed out in my class from exhaustion."
Levia blinked, looking over at Lich. She'd never imagined him as a high school teacher, but then again, she'd never imagined herself as a college teacher either. Still, after so long being Master of the Hellish Yard, teaching college was child's play in comparison. It was… nicer than she'd have thought, to be teaching others about the profession she'd dedicated her life to all those years ago.
"Nyx… they're one of the dual-credit students in my class, right?" She asked, and Lich nodded. Levia personally thought it was stupid to make high schoolers take a college class to graduate, but Nyx Caer had been seeming to do well under the pressure. "They looked fine the last time I checked."
Lich shook his head. "They're doing fine in school, but I worry about their personal life. I haven't been able to reach their parents at all— according to Nyx, they're just busy with work, but…" He trailed off, frowning.
"But there's a chance there's something more going on?" Levia finished, frowning as well. Now that she thought about it, Nyx rarely mentioned their family— the only family member of theirs she'd ever even seen was their little sister Rose.
"Speaking of my students, how are Safaline and Cedar doing in your class?" Lich asked Seth, and Seth shrugged. Levia knew he only really taught physics at the college as a favor to the dean, so it wasn't particularly surprising that he didn't seem all that invested.
"They're fine. Safaline's doing better than Cedar."
Lich's eye twitched as he looked at his husband. Levia sipped her milkshake as they stared at each other. Finally, Lich looked away, and Seth smirked victoriously.
"That's good to hear." He stabbed his straw into the milkshake lid with a viciousness that made her wonder if he was imagining stabbing it into Seth's eye. "As I was saying, Nyx frequently seems exhausted in my class. At least the new kid seems to be drawing them out of their shell."
"The new kid?" Levia echoed, and Lich nodded.
"The new kid. Her name is Alexis Opion. She's a recent transfer to my class, but she's already a troublemaker. Nyx and Safaline are usually the ones to reign her in— I think they knew each other before she transferred."
Levia hummed, setting down her milkshake. "I'll keep an eye on Nyx. Maybe their parents really are just busy, but if they aren't…"
"I'd appreciate that."
The three of them sat in silence in the little diner for a few minutes, before Seth spoke up again. "You said her name was Alexis Opion? Like Melpomene Opion?"
"That name sounds familiar…" Levia murmured, and Seth rolled his eyes.
"He was the only other mask on the Climb One. I think he was an archivist of some sort…?"
"What about him?" Lich asked irritably, his fingers drumming against the table.
"Nothing, nothing. Merely an interesting coincidence." Seth grinned. "So, Levia, how's Luna been?"
And for the rest of their time at the diner, they talked about how their personal lives had been.