Chapter 8

Damien drew in a slow breath and let it out. He strode toward the portal that brought him onto campus and stepped into it before he could do something else to incriminate himself. Knowing what he did of Whisp, she was probably still in the area.

The portal spat him out on plain cobblestone. His nose twisted in distaste shaking his head and pushing the queasiness away. Compared to the long-distance teleports, this one was barely noticeable.

Sylph stepped out from behind a pillar, a small dagger in her hand. It vanished back up her shirt sleeve when she realized that Damien was alone.

"Is everything okay?" Sylph asked.

"As much as it can be," Damien said, letting out a strained laugh. "She said that we were on the same side."

Sylph let out a grunt that made it clear that she didn't believe the dean's words any more than Damien did. The two of them wordlessly started back toward their room on the mountain.

"When'd you get a dagger?" Damien asked.

"I've always had it," Sylph replied. "When you run out of Ether as quickly as I do, you need multiple backup plans."

"Fair enough," Damien said. "Here's to hoping you won't have to carry the knife around much longer, then."

They reached the room a few minutes later. Mark had finally invested in a curtain in front of his cave entrance, and it was pulled shut. The Gray siblings had done the same. Damien pulled their door open, and they headed inside, letting it swing shut behind them.

Henry, do you think…?

The companion unfurled from his self-imposed sleep. Henry didn't say anything for a moment. Then he let out a sigh. "I was checking if Whisp was in the area. It doesn't seem like she's here."

Good. I think we might need to explain some things to Sylph. She can't use her Ether anymore.

"Of course, she can't," Henry said. "Half of her body isn't even human anymore. Monsters channel Ether very differently than humans do. They don't have mental energy, nor do most of them actually cast spells. The Ether flows through them inherently, and it reacts more to their desires than it does to conscious commands."

Can you shield us from people listening in again? I think it might be time to explain everything to Sylph. We've saved each other's lives enough times, and she's now in the exact same boat that we are, isn't she?

"I'm not opposed to it," Henry said. "She was ready to die to save your life. I'm new to judging character but, as far as things go, mortals tend to value their life quite closely. Just remember that this isn't something we can take back. The girl is your friend now, but how will she react to the truth?"

I suppose we'll have to find out. We don't owe it to her, but I think she's done more than enough to deserve to know.

"Very well," Henry said. "Bring her into the training room. It'll be easier to keep a single room blocked out than multiple. The less area I have to shield and the farther into the mountain it is, the harder it'll be for someone to listen in."

Damien nodded. He looked back to Sylph, who waited patiently by her bed.

"Follow me," Damien said, heading into the training rooms.

"Sounds serious. Sure." Sylph trailed after him with a curious expression.

When they got to the back training room, Damien's shadow rippled.

Sylph's eyes widened as it rose from the ground, strands of darkness twisting together to form Henry's flickering body.

The Void creature raised his hands. A purple pulse of energy ripped out from him, bouncing off the edges of the room and making a pattern like a rippling lake as they echoed throughout the room. The energy faded, turning to a dull translucent barrier surrounding them.

"We're safe from prying ears," Henry said, eyes blinking open and closed across his body.

"Henry?" Sylph guessed.

"Astute. Because Damien has other companions that come out of his shadow," Henry muttered dryly.

Sylph smirked. "I suppose not. What do I owe this pleasure? I was under the impression you weren't a fan of showing your true form."

"Trust me, this isn't my true form," Henry said, laughing. "And I'm here to make an arguably bad decision at Damien's behest. You've died to save his life, so we decided it would be appropriate to inform you of my true nature."

Sylph blinked. "Really? You don't have to. We don't owe each other anything. You saved me after I saved Damien, so the plate is clean."

"I think the anxiety is eating him alive," Henry said. "Humans are just so eager to share their secrets. I must admit that I'm starting to understand the desire. What's the point of knowing things that others don't if you can't lord over their failings?"

"I'm not sure that's exactly why people like sharing secrets, but that's good enough," Damien said, rolling his eyes. "Can you just get on with it?"

"Would you rather do it yourself?" Henry asked, an eye on the back of his head blinking open to look at Damien.

"Nope, sorry. Continue with your monologue," Damien said, cringing back.

"Thank you. Now, there are a few important things to cover," Henry said. "First, you're going to need to relearn parts of how your Ether works.

The artifact is still floating around inside you, but its severely damaged.

You can probably repair it at some point in the future but focus on that later.

Since I broke it, I'll take your companions place and show you how to use your Ether."

Sylph swallowed and nodded, not daring to say anything and interrupt Henry.

"Now, the more interesting part. How much do you know of the Eight Planes?" Henry asked.

"Eight?" Sylph asked, frowning. "There are Seven. Mortal, Stars, Immortal, Fury, Light, Darkness, and Dead."

"You've missed one," Henry said. "The Void."

"I've never heard of the Void," Sylph said, frowning. "My schooling was focused on practical aspects, but my teacher was quite thorough. If there are companions in this Void Plane, I would have thought he'd have told me."

"He probably didn't know about it," Henry said. "As far as I'm aware, I'm the first time a Void creature has ever become a companion."

"What does that entail?" Sylph asked, baffled. What is the Void, anyway?"

"The Void is the cracks between existence," Henry said. "The absence of all things. Nothing can exist within it, except for my kind."

"And your kind is…?"

"There is no official human name for us beyond Void creatures or denizens," Henry replied. "However, we fit a few of your folklore legends.

It would not be entirely inaccurate to call us the Horsemen."

Sylph's face scrunched up in confusion for a moment. Then her eyes flashed with realization. She swallowed, the blood draining out of her face.

"You're a Herald of the End? The monsters that exist to destroy the world?"

"Ding."

Her eyes widened. Damien could practically see the thoughts shooting through Sylph's head as she subconsciously took a step away from Henry.

She swallowed again, her eyes darting from Damien to Henry and back again. Then she let out a slow breath.

"Well…not that I want to encourage you or anything, but you aren't doing a very good job of it," Sylph observed carefully. "Can you not act without Damien's permission or something? I suppose the companion contract keeps you from doing what you want?"

"Nope," Henry said, chuckling. "It did at one point, but that is no longer the case. Let's suffice to say that I have no desire to destroy the world yet. I will eventually, don't get me wrong. I'm just enjoying it a bit too much right now."

"That explains the reading choices," Sylph said, relaxing slightly. It was Damien's turn to laugh at Henry, a rare occurrence that he made sure to savor.

"How did Damien contract you in the first place, then?" Sylph asked after a few moments.

"By accident, mostly," Damien said. He wanted to fill her in, but something kept him from mentioning whoever or whatever had been fiddling with his life. Truth be told, Damien didn't like thinking much about that at all.

"His rune circle had several conveniently placed mistakes that perfectly launched his summons straight into the void, where I happened to be hanging around," Henry said. "One thing led to another, and now we're all here. Consider yourself enlightened. You now know a secret that many mortals would burn an entire continent to learn. How does it feel?"

"Like I ate a rock," Sylph admitted. "Damien, you said you bound your companion early. Have you been keeping this secret since you were…?"

"Thirteen," Damien finished. "Yes. It hasn't been easy."

"I can imagine," Sylph said, shaking her head. "I'm not sure if I should be horrified or impressed."

"Impressed is good."

Sylph laughed and shook her head. "Honestly, I already figured your companion was some creepy monster. As far as creepy monsters go, Henry doesn't seem that bad. I've dealt with worse myself."

"I'm not sure if that was a compliment or an insult," Henry said. "But before you get too relaxed, there's still one more thing you need to know."

Sylph cocked her head. Henry spent several minutes explaining the Corruption and what the true purpose of the Void creatures was. By the time he was finished, Sylph looked like she was going to be slightly sick.

"I've got a monster even worse than you are inside me?"

"The corpse of a monster," Henry corrected. "It's very dead. I think."

Sylph drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Okay. Well, I suppose that's still better than being dead, right?"

She didn't sound particularly certain. Damien nodded empathetically.

"I've done it a few times. Living with a monster isn't the worst thing."

"You've died as well?" Sylph asked, raising an eyebrow. "I thought I was unique."

"Yep. Henry killed me," Damien replied.

"Technically, you ripped yourself apart," Henry said. "And that was Herald."

"Herald? How many companions do you have, Damien?"

"One," Damien said firmly. "One companion and one unwanted tagalong who stays firmly locked away. Let's avoid talking about it, if that's okay. It's probably observing us."

Sylph nodded. "Right. So, back to the evil corpse inside me. I don't want to sound impatient or ungrateful, but is there any way you could teach me sooner rather than later? I feel naked without my Ether, even if I never had much to begin with."

"We can do it right now," Henry said. "It's not like Damien has anything better to do. The two of you just wander around campus together like a pair of lost dogs if you aren't training."

"Hey!" Damien complained. "We do more than that."

"Sure, you do," Henry said. "Listen, Sylph. This probably isn't going to be very comfortable. I can't just tell you how to use the Ether. I have to take the job of your companion, and that means showing you."

"Okay," Sylph said. "That's fine. I've dealt with pain before. It's of no concern."

"Your head is going to feel like I'm hammering it open with a blunt wooden spike," Henry said bluntly. "It will be very bad."

"I've dealt with worse," Sylph said, her tone leaving no room for questions. "Just do it. I need my Ether back."

"Just making sure you know," Henry said. "Lie down. I'd like to have done this in your bed, but it's too close to the door. We don't need someone getting a glimpse by accident."

Sylph laid on the ground in front of Henry. The companion gestured for Damien to join them. "Hold her head. It's going to jerk around a lot, and I will be very annoyed if all my efforts get wasted because Sylph kills herself by hitting her head on the ground."

Damien swallowed and nodded. He tried not to make eye contact with Sylph as she scooted back, putting her head in his lap. Henry let out a noise between an annoyed grunt and a laugh.

"Children," he muttered in a low tone. He raised a hand above Sylph and started to trace runes through the air above her head. A trail of dark purple energy followed his faint fingertip, crackling sparking.

Henry drew for several more minutes before lowering his finger, leaving several interconnected circles hovering above the girl's face. "Get ready.

Screaming is fine, by the way. Sound won't escape this room."

Sylph nodded, her face impassive. "Do it."

Henry didn't wait for her to ask again. He slammed a hand against the runes in the air. They telescoped downwards toward her, lighting up with bright purple light. Henry's form twisted and flickered, spiraling through the runes and into Sylph's head.

Her eyes widened, and Sylph gritted her teeth, but she didn't make any noise. Henry's rune circles started to spin in opposite directions. Sylph's body jerked, and her back arched in pain. Damien held her head steady as best as he could.

With every passing second, the runes churned faster. More and more of Henry vanished. Sylph's hands clenched so tightly that blood started to trickle out of her palms where her nails bit into them. Even still, not a single sound escaped her mouth.

The last bit of Henry—and Damien's shadow—vanished through the runes. They slammed to a halt, the light blinking out. Sylph relaxed, and Damien let out a relieved breath. He glanced down at her and nearly yelped in surprise.

Her eyes were pitch black. It was like looking into two bowls of ink.

Damien winced, then pulled a small napkin from his travel pack. He leaned over and gently unclenched Sylph's fists, wiping the blood off before it could get onto her clothes or the floor.

Sylph didn't seem to notice. Her body twitched occasionally, and her mouth occasionally moved as if she were silently speaking to somebody.

Damien watched on nervously, alternating from looking at her to the training room entrance make sure nobody was watching them.

Damien wasn't sure how much time passed, but it probably wasn't more than ten minutes before the darkness started to drain out of her eyes. It trickled out around Sylph, forming a shadowy pool.

Bit by bit, Henry reformed beside Damien. When the last bit of the darkness left Sylph, she drew in a sharp breath, twitching slightly.

"Did it work?" Damien asked.

"As well as I'd expected," Henry replied. "Maybe even more so. It was a cruel prank for Sylph to be born with such a pitiful core. She's much more talented than you are. It's a good thing we were around to right that wrong."

"Thanks," Damien said, rolling his eyes as Henry let out a chuckle.

"Sylph, how do you feel?"

"A little dizzy," Sylph admitted, blinking several times. "It worked, I think. It's…so different. The Ether feels like it's a part of me now. Like another limb."

"Well, that's good, right?"

"Try moving an arm you don't have," Sylph said. "I know it's there, and I can actually feel it, which is good. There's so much more than I used to have." She trailed off for a few moments before blinking. "I lost track of my thoughts, sorry. This is a very strange feeling."

"You'll get used to it," Henry said. "It might be wise for you to remain inside your room until you do, though. You don't want to accidentally use your Ether."

"We've only got a little less than a week before we have to go back out," Sylph said. "Do you really think that's enough time to master this new Ether?"

"Master it?" Henry asked, chuckling. "No. But enough for you to get a rudimentary grasp over its use. You should still also be able to use a lot of your previous magic. That knowledge isn't lost. Your energy is just different. Your companion, artificial or not, already made it so that you could see the Ether that corresponds to Dark magic. Just be careful, as your new Ether may not act the same way, even for the same spells."

Sylph committed his words to memory before giving Henry a nod.

"Understood. I'll keep your words in mind. Thank you."

"Appreciation accepted," Henry said. "And with that, it's time for me to go. You kids can handle the rest. There's no reason to keep the magical barrier going any longer than we need to."

He slipped forward, sliding into the ground and reconnecting to Damien's feet. The translucent purple energy flickering around them popped and faded away into small wisps of smoke.

"How do you feel?" Damien asked.

"Better than before. Being able to feel the Ether again is a huge weight off my shoulders. It's different, but it's still there. I'm going to need to practice a lot this week if I want to avoid suspicion from the professors."

Damien nodded. "I'll be practicing as well. Just don't push yourself too hard. We really don't want a repeat of last time."

An embarrassed grin crossed Sylph's lips. "I'll try to contain myself. No promises, though."

It was already a late hour, so the two of them didn't spend much more time talking. Both were too tired to get anything serious done, so they got cleaned up and headed to bed to prepare for the following morning.

Before he went to sleep, he tapped his bracelet. He hadn't gotten a chance to check how much he'd grown from the fight against the Seed yet.

Damien Vale Blackmist College Year One Major: Undecided Minor: Undecided Companion: [Null] Magical Strength: 4.92 Magical Control: .57 Magical Energy: 9.8 Physical Strength: .34 Endurance: .82 Damien dismissed it with a blink. Large gains, but not even slightly worth all the danger they'd gone through. Probably. He closed his eyes and laid back in bed, drifting off to sleep.

The next two days passed in a blur. Damien practiced the Devour spell relentlessly until he could bring the magic to bear in just a little over a second. He remained within the first training room, allowing Sylph the usage of the second, farther one. He saw little of her aside from when they went to bed late into the night.

On the dawn of the third day, Henry declared that Damien's mastery of Devour had become satisfactory.

"Not bad at all," Henry said. "A few thousand years ago, I might have even considered using that myself."

Damien snorted.

Gee, thanks. I'm not finished with the spell yet, though.

"Oh?" Henry asked, but there was excitement in his tone. "What do you mean by that? You're telling me you haven't mastered every aspect of Space magic already?"

I want to reverse the spell. From what I understand of the magic powering it, the energy of the spells stored within Devour is still there, so I should be able to spit it back out.

"Go on," Henry encouraged.

That's really it, honestly. It should be much easier than Devour in theory. Since I'll be casting it while Devour is active, I'll only need to reverse the rune circle that stores the magic inside it. I could call it Expunge, since I'm purging the spell from within Devour.

"Workable. I would have called it Plop, but I suppose I can see the appeal of yours," Henry said. "But you seem to have it all hashed out. Why even waste time asking about it?"

Well, I was wondering logistics and didn't want to blow myself up. Like, how long are spells stored in the Devour space? If I open it up, save a spell, then close it, what happens? I don't want to try to draw energy that isn't there and end up creating some anomaly that blows me up.

"Ah. It remains as long as the initial Devour spell is active," Henry said.

"But there's a way to get around that. If you open a new Devour spell while the old one is still around, both will be able to access the same space. So, a spell can go in through one of them, and you can fire it out the other one."

The possibilities of Henry's words kept Damien from responding. He let out a slow whistle.

"There's more," Henry said. "Let me show you a little trick."

Henry's mental energy reached out, tentatively taking over his body. It was a courtesy more than anything. Damien couldn't have stopped the Void Creature if he'd wanted to. Regardless, the motion was appreciated.

The boy didn't resist, allowing Henry to take over. His companion had him raise an arm and traced the rune for Devour in the air before them in purple, glowing script.

"Watch closely," Henry said with Damien's voice. "If you remain concentrated, you can actually insert the Ether into the rune without detonating it by stopping the reaction with mental energy."

Henry cast out a net of mental energy, illuminating the room with lines of Ether. He then did exactly as he'd said, injecting the energy into the glowing rune through Damien's palm. At the same time, Henry sent a tendril of mental energy into the rune, asserting his will over it.

He had Damien walk several feet to the side. The moment Damien stepped away from the rune, it grew slightly brighter as if it were trying to activate. However, Henry forced it to remain in stasis.

After a few moments, Henry pulled the strand of energy back. The rune instantly triggered, and a perfect circle of darkness sprang to life in front of them. Henry repeated the spell one more time, then gave Damien back control over his body.

"It can be like a trap," Damien said aloud, forgetting to speak inwardly as he tried to wrap his head around all the possibilities of the spell. "And with magic I don't even know how to cast. But…isn't this kind of Void magic? You said that the Void spell was just basically a mimicry spell, right?"

"No," Henry said. "This is Space magic. The Expunge spell you're trying to create is essentially trapping your opponent's spell within a spot in space, then releasing it from another. The longer you wait to release their spell, the weaker it will become. I've cast such a spell before, although I never gave it a name. Void magic is…different. It isn't just mimicry, it's theft. It takes a spell and changes it drastically. Think of it as evolving a spell to its max possible capability. Just focus on Space magic for now.

You're getting a good grasp on it, but you've got a long way to go before you can even think about the Void."

Damien nodded. He gathered the Ether in his hands and guided it as he envisioned the Devour spell, drawing the rune in the air. Pressing his palm against the floating energy, he sent the Ether into it.

The rune brightened substantially. Damien's eyes narrowed in concentration as he reached out with a strand of mental energy. He pressed it into the spell, trying to envelop it. However, unlike when Henry had done it, the Ether stubbornly slipped out from his grasp like an eel. Damien pursed his lips and yanked his hand back, hoping that his weak grip would be enough to contain the Ether.

The rune detonated, and Devour went off. Damien cursed as the spell faded away. After a moment of gathering his thoughts, Damien drew the Ether back down to his fingertip and repeated the process. The second attempt gave him similar results. The moment he took his hands away from the spell, it detonated almost instantly.

I don't get it. How do you keep the spell from activating? The moment I take my hand off it goes boom.

"You're just poking it with your mental energy," Henry said. "It's just like casting a spell. Intention is key. Imagine that your mental energy is forming a perfect sphere around the Ether, not allowing it to return to its natural state."

That's what I'm doing! I can grab and move the strands of Ether normally with my energy, but I can't seem to completely wrap it up after I've put it into a rune.

"That's because the Ether strands are in their natural state. They aren't trying to resist you like the spell is. Just try casting it again. For now, you can try using more of your energy to contain it. You can work on optimizing it later."

Damien nodded, going through the process of casting the spell once again. Once the rune formed in the air before his palm, he sent the Ether into it. The rune grew warm against his touch. He bit his lower lip as he sent out two tendrils of mental energy, twisting them around the rune and forming a blobby orb. The Ether within the rune pressed against his energy, trying to worm its way out.

Do you think this will work? Or do I need more?

"Give it a shot," Henry said after examining it for a moment. "You don't have to be too worried with this spell. It's not going to hurt you if it miscasts like gravity sphere would. You should just abuse your high magical energy and cast it until something works."

Damien let go of the spell, hopping a step back. The rune flickered in the air, remaining there for an instant. The pressure doubled, and a small crack formed in his cage. The spell immediately went off, throwing his mental energy to the side.

I did it!

"For about half a second," Henry said, chuckling. "If you want that to be of any use in a fight, you're going to need to be able to hold the rune in place for a minute or more."

That did little to dampen Damien's enthusiasm. He mentally stuck his tongue out at Henry and redoubled his efforts. The hours ticked by. Damien cast Devour dozens of times, not stopping until a throbbing headache wrapped its steely fingers around him. By the end of the day, Damien was able to keep the rune suspended in the air for nearly five seconds.

He staggered into the bathroom, squinting against the pain. One long shower later, the pain had receded enough for him to rejoin the outside world. Damien wandered back into the main room, drying his hair off with the towel.

"Did your training go well?" Sylph asked from behind him.

He jumped, tripping over his own feet and falling face first onto his bed.

Sylph burst into laughter behind him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"I was preoccupied," Damien grumbled, flicking some water at her.

"And, yes, my training went well. I'm assuming that question means you've managed to make progress as well?"

In response, Sylph held out her hand. Her nose bunched up in concentration. A small ball of pale grayish green energy twisted to life above her palm. It condensed into a pinprick of light before flaring outwards, forming into a blade.

"You can cast magic again!" Damien exclaimed.

"Yeah, although the color is kind of messed up. I really hope my spells don't all look green," Sylph said, a small frown crossing her features.

"Delph is going to wonder why all my magic looks different."

"Maybe it'll go back to normal once you get some more practice with it," Damien said. "But you're feeling fine aside from that, right? No weird side effects?"

"None," Sylph said. She pulled her shirt up slightly, exposing her midriff. "The spot where I got stabbed felt like it had changed to a stonelike substance when I woke back up, but it seems to be returning to my normal flesh. Does this mean I can't die?"

"Let's avoid testing that out," Damien said, politely averting his eyes and flushing. "And for the love of the mess hall food, don't let Delph know.

If he realizes he can stab you and get away with it, he'll be doing it for the next month."

Sylph let her shirt drop back down and grimaced. "Good point."

Her stomach rumbled. A moment later, Damien's stomach joined her.

They both laughed.

"I think it might be time to get dinner," Damien said. "Are you able to control your magic enough yet?"

"Dinner wouldn't hurt," Sylph agreed, but she frowned. "I'm not sure yet. There are moments where everything feels fine, and then a minute later I can barely keep myself from leaking Ether. I think it's improving, but I really can't tell."

"That's fine. I'll just go bring something back for us again, it's not a big deal. We've still got almost four days until we've got to face anyone."

"Thanks," Sylph said, grinning at him.

Damien just nodded, grabbing his mage armor from the side of his bed and throwing it on. He pushed the stone door open and slipped outside.

Neither Mark nor the Grays had returned from their quests, so he was able to easily make his way down the mountainside and onto Blackmist's campus.

As he had for the last few days, Damien made a beeline for the general store. The ever-present clerk cocked an eyebrow as he entered the shop.

"Don't tell me you're here for more food."

"I'm here for more food," Damien said, scratching his head and giving the man a sheepish grin.

"I'm not running a grocery store. Why don't you just get food at the mess hall if you want to eat on campus? Or heck, just buy it directly from a supplier. They sell to students, you know."

"I don't have anything to cook with yet," Damien said. "Come on, it's not like you've got a dozen snack packs lying around for no reason."

The clerk let out a grumble as he grabbed two packages made out of brown paper out from below the counter. He set them down in front of Damien, who grinned widely and counted several coins into the man's outstretched hand.

Damien grabbed the food and waved to the clerk as he headed back out of the door. "See you tomorrow!"

"You better buy something normal next time!" the man yelled after him, but there was no anger in his voice.

"I bought magical herbs that one time," Damien called back, letting the door shut behind him before the man could respond. Another student shot him a confused glance, but Damien just shrugged at them and headed back toward the mountain.

As he walked, Henry stirred within his mind. "Speaking of medicinal herbs, your body has likely absorbed all of the previous herb you used. You should ingest the next one tonight."

I'm not even sure that the last herb did anything. Are you sure?

"I'm always sure. And it did do something. Your body's inherent Ether has increased significantly. Your muscles recover faster, and you gain strength quicker than you did before. The herbs aren't going to make an instant difference, but they'll help increase your foundations."

Noted. Does it matter which one I take?

"Not really. You'll be using all of them eventually anyway. Just take the one you won from the tournament," Henry said with a dismissive mental shrug. "Sylph shouldn't take hers yet. I doubt it would do much, but she doesn't need any extra magic working around inside her right now."

Got it.

Damien finished the rest of the walk in silence. Sylph was sitting on her bed with her back facing him, staring at something in her hand. When she heard Damien open the door, Sylph shifted to face him, scooting back slightly to find a more comfortable seat.

"Here you go," Damien said, tossing her one of the brown packages.

She caught it with one hand and gave him a smile.

"Thanks, Damien," Sylph said. "How much did it cost?"

"No problem. It was just two silver," Damien replied, tearing open the package to reveal a small bunch of grapes, a slice of cheese, some crackers, and what looked to be several strips of dried meat.

"I'll pay you after we eat," Sylph said, opening her own package. The two of them dug into the food without another word.