Still reeling from Guardok's recovery and Cadoras' question, Mei cups her warm cheeks in hand and peers up at Piero as he explains his findings. "Forbidden magic does seem a likely culprit. Going by the... the feeling of it alone," she says with a shiver. "Perhaps the substance is a product of it? Forbidden... alchemy of some sort?"

"Though..." The student mage glances around and lowers her voice as though the villain could be there this very moment, "none of that gives us any indication of the, um... who or why of it." 

The purple-skinned Tiefling gives Piero a quick glare. Of course he knew knew the Slaadi were not simply giant frogs, in fact they were fascinating and complicated creatures that he quite enjoyed studying. "Yes, I suppose we have very little to go on so far. Unless Professor Sharpbeak can somehow trace the creation of the black goo back to it's creator the best we can do is being prepared for more incidents. We should keep the amphibian footprint in mind though, and keep our eyes open for students that could match that print, they might at least have been a witness to what happened to those frogs at the pond." 

"And I know you are all going to have an issue with me saying this, but I still think we should keep an eye out for any Bullywug students. Even if they are not responsible, if there really are so few of them they might well  have been the one who made the footprint, which means they might have seen something", Guardok adds, a little defiantly, expecting to be challenged.

"I agree, and that was what I meant, although perhaps we arent't quite certain it was a footprint from a Bullywug. Still, any Bullywugs or similar humanoids we come across we should at least ask about whether they know anything about what happened at the pond." Malvyn says in nodding to Guardok, not seeming the least aware of this being in any way provocative.

“And the print with the bent nail too,” Mei reminds them. “Th-the one that turns the Dreams red.” She tucks her heels up on the chair and wraps her arms around her knees. 

"Yes, the print with the bent nail too." The purple-skinned Tiefling agrees with an excited nod, but then he gets a concerned look as Mei seems uneasy again, wanting to say something comforting but not quite finding the words.

"Oh, sorry Mal", Guardok replies, not realising that was exactly what the Tiefling had just said, in a slightly more subtle way.

He looks around at those present, most of whom are far smarter than he is.

"You lot will figure it all out, I know it".

Mei smiles at Guardok across the table. "We all will."

As the others continue to chat, Mei points a finger towards the restrooms and sends a Message. 

"Mae... are you okay? Sorry if this is, um, a bad time. Just wanted to make sure you're alright?"

"Ah, no, nothing to be sorry about Guardok, I just tried to clarify what I meant earlier, something you expressed in a much more clear way. And yes, I too hope we all will put our minds into this." The purple-skinned Tiefling says with a apologetic smile. "So when are you going on?" He then turns and asks Aurora. "Same time as ususal?"

To Mei:

 
Piero nods as Mei alludes to the information not pointing to a culprit. "Exactly. It's interesting information. But doesn't really help us determine who is behind this. Or why." As the others mention looking for a bullywug, he nods. "Yes, we need to find those that Mei saw in her dream.  There was the frog-like person, the one with a bent nail on his shoe, and then one other, right?"  He looks around at the group. "You know, you keep mentioning bullywugs, but could it perhaps be a grung? We should ask if there are any of those beings on campus too." 

Aurora listens to the conversation idly, until Malvyn asks about her performance. "Yea, as usual I perform rather late in the night. I still have another hour or so."  She gives a grin. "Eager to get rid of me?  Or just eager for me to be finished?"  

Cadoras seems sympathetic as Mei starts to curl up a bit at the mention of her dream turning red. He gently puts a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, you've got lots of friends around to help you should anything go awry."  Then when he notes you casting a spell of some sort, he whispers to her, "Is something up?" 

Zanther listens to the conversation too, his eyes widening at all the discussion and planning of investigating. "Wow, you lot are really into this! Here you are the heroes that kept everyone safe but now you're taking on the investigation on your own too! Pretty impressive." 

Mei's eyes begin to water. She sets her hand over the one on her shoulder, wrapping her fingers around Cadroas' with a grateful squeeze. At first, she shakes her head in answer of his question. Then nods instead.

"I think Mae left," she whispers back, unsure of why their floormate left again without saying goodbye. Or why she seems to so dislike being with them. Her weepy gaze turns to Aurora, wondering if the singer knew anything. She's spent more time with Maeleve than any of them.

Mae. The Dreams. The Darkness. The Red.
The exam. The dagger. The butterflies.
A duty. A dread and fear and guilt.
They all converge at once, grasping and clawing at her heart, and Mei stands so abruptly to escape that she nearly knocks over her chair. Grabbing for whatever cocktail or glass of wine is within reach--whomever's it is--she downs the liquid and loudly announces, "I'm gonna go dance," before hurrying off towards the stage.  

Aurora catches gaze, her eyes narrowing as she tries to make out Mei's whispered words. "Mae?  You mean you, or... Wait, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"  She glances over towards the bathroom a moment, muttering, "She said she was just going to use the restroom."  Her eyes start to scan the room, "Maybe she's just run into someone else here." 

Cadoras quickly rises to his feet as Mei heads off 'to dance'.  "Let me join you Mei."  

"No, I just realized I was getting a bit caught up with the discussion about the investigation and that I have been neglecting you Aurora, but I'm also looking foward to hear you play, as always." The purple-skinned Tiefling says with a sincere smile. 

As Mei suddenly stands up and declares she is going to dance, Malvyn quickly looks around at the others, hoping Cadoras at least would follow her. "What do you say, a bit of dancing before you go on stage?" He turns and says to the raven-haired performer beside him, offering his hand to lead her onto the dance floor, hoping the music would be somewhat danceable, wanting to dance but also wanting to keep an eye on the oracle who seemed a bit troubled.

Guardok just sits there with a bit of a gormless look on his face as Mei rushes off looking distressed. As others follow, he feels it best he doesn't crowd her, and stays at the table.

He gives a shrug to Knap, Zanther and Piero.

"Any of you know what that was about?", he asks a little concerned.

Knap finished his last spoonful of food he’d slowly savoured while listening to the others untangle the footprint and frog mystery. He meets Guardok’s eyes as Mei rushes off. He shrugs his shoulders and leaps up to follow. 

“Wait for me, I wanna dance too, not together, but in proximity”,  Knap says as he sidesteps chairs and dodges other patrons all the way to the dance floor.  

Mei quickly wipes at her face then stops to wait for Cadoras, turning back with a smile.

"Do you... like dancing?" she asks with a surprised pitch to her tone, worried she's made him feel obligated to join after that little outburst.

As Knap comes too, she makes a face and laughs as they all walk towards the stage, "We can dance together too, you know!" 

Aurora's attention slowly turns back to the tiefling. "Sure Mal, we can dance."  She stands and allows herself to be led over to the dance floor. As the walk she speaks softly to him. "I don't understand what's up with Mae. She's been acting odd the last few days and now she might have just left in the middle of dinner?"  

Piero is the one that speaks up to respond to Guardok's question. "I can only surmise that Mei - your dreamy friend - is worried that aasimar Mae might have left."  He shrugs, "She appeared to use some bit of magic, so that must have tipped her off. Not sure why the purple-haired Mei is so upset though." 

Cadoras immediately responds to Mei. "Like dancing? Of course, I love dancing!" he says energetically. "Now, you should have asked am I any good at dancing. That you'll have to judge for yourself. But tell me, what is that has you so troubled Mei?"  A moment later as Knap joins as well, he quickly adds his voice to Mei's. "We can all dance together. The more the merrier." 

"Yes, I mean no, I have no idea what is bothering Mae. I admit I don't feel I know her very well, I'm sure you've spoken more with her than I have." Malvyn answers softly, then as they reach the dance floor he draws the raven-haired performer in and starts dancing slowly as he is used to by now, speaking softly again. "I might have a theory though that could perhaps explain her behaviour." He says quietly after a while of dancing, clearly hesitating to continue. "It...ehm...might simply be that I'm not the only one...ehm...having an interest in you." The purple-skinned Tiefling says a bit awkwardly, almost regretting saying anything. He could be wrong of course but when he thought about it the pattern sort of fit. It didn't really help much knowing this even if it was the case, he hadn't the faintest idea about how to comfort the Aasimar. "I'm not good with these things, not good at all, maybe you could speak with her, to sort things out?" He asks quietly.

Mei finds herself quite eager to see Cadoras dance, considering the movement he creates in his sculptures. "M-Maybe you could teach me a few moves," Mei giggles, then leans in conspiratorially. "Though, I do already have the secret to being the best dancer on the dance floor, you know." It's with teasing affectation she adds, "I cooulldd be persuaded to share."

When asked about what's troubling her, she's touched he's checking in, but gives a little shake of her head and references his earlier words in reply. "It's supposed to be a fabulous evening, remember? Maybe we could... forget about everything else? J-Just for tonight? It'll all still be there to trouble me tomorrow." A soft hand finds his, just a gentle brush along his knuckles before her fingers envelop his. It's a moment later that Knap's is captured as well and she's pulling both boys to the dance floor, laughing about a dance off. 

After finding space to dance, Mei calls back to Guardok, Piero, and Zanther at their table with a beckoning wave, "C'mon, you three!"

Aurora dances close to Malvyn, listening to his comments. She pauses after he finishes his halting statements. "Yea, I am a bit concerned that maybe I'm the cause. I've really enjoyed getting to know her in the Showband."  There's another long pause. "I... suppose I could talk to her. I'm not sure what I would say though." 

Cadoras starts to move in rhythm to the music, a bright smile coming to his face when Mei mentions 'secret'. "You have a secret for great dancing? Oh, then it is you who must teach me!" His dancing seems a bit random, but he moves easily to the music and, as he usually does, he appears to be having a grand time. "A fabulous evening just for tonight? I can do that for you Mei. Perhaps tomorrow though we could grab a lunch and have a less fabulous time. And we can talk about whatever - if you want." 

Piero looks over at Mei with an almost disdainful look, a return to his behavior in the past. "No partner. Sorry, I cannot join you tonight." Zanther jumps up, though he looks to Guardok as he does. "You joining? I'm sure it would be fun."