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Evander's face lights up as he sees you approaching. He's draped in fine golden mage robes, and you realize as you approach that he's actually talking to several guards, and they're discussing you. There's a small traveling parcel tucked under his arm.

"Ah, Jun, wonderful to see you again!" he says. His smile is strained, but only just. If he's trying to cover for the awkwardness of yesterday, he's doing it well. "The carriage should be along in just a moment—you must have just missed it. Did Letha need to speak to you about something?" The last question is deliberately casual, you think.

"Well, I'm sure she'd have spoken to you if she needed something," Evander says, though it looks as though it's taking him effort not to look again in Letha's direction. "And we do need to be going!"

Evander says a quick farewell to the guards and leads you back out to the main road, where your carriage is just approaching. It's large and almost shining, covered with elaborate decorations, including the Royal Arcane Academy's crest. The driver steps out to open the door, and Evander gestures for you to enter first. Once he's seated across from you on the plush cushioned seats, he says a quick word to the driver, and you're off.

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From Evander's obvious excitement, you expected an eager conversation partner. But even before you're outside of Archa, Evander goes quiet. He falls to glancing between the parcel he's kept at his side and the buildings fading into trees and plains outside the window. It looks like you'll need to introduce a topic, if you aren't going to pass your journey in silence.

You contemplate the opposite window, watching Ithos go by. The distance between Archa and the Academy isn't far—you should be there by midday, and you're happy to pass the time without idle chatter.

After a while, Evander sighs. "It's so loud in Archa," he says. "I mean, it's loud at the Academy too, but in a different way." He frowns again at the parcel on his seat. "Or…it ought to be different. Regardless, I'm happy for the chance to sit quietly with a friend, for once."

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