The sky was dark by the time Terra and Adela left the library to head back to their cabin. It was silent between them, but not in an oh-my-god-I-need-to-say-something-before-they-think-I’m-weird-or-that-I-hate-them sort of way for once. Just… comfortable. Terra basked in the sound of only footsteps and the forest surrounding camp. She felt more at ease than she had all week. No worrying about getting anyone to like her, or that she was making anyone upset by just existing in the same space. There was still that niggling fear in the back of her brain, but the thought of Adela maybe feeling the same helped her relax.

Maybe Dr. Lani had been right. Maybe Team Prevail is where she needed to be. She didn’t realize how stressed Team Slayers had made her feel until she was gone.

It felt nice when Soledad insisted she join in on their antics, almost like she was wanted, which… It was a foreign feeling, sure, but not unwelcome. Chika standing up for her… It was terrifying, really, but it made her feel warm inside along with the cold fear. She really hoped Slayers didn’t hurt her; she did feel guilty for running, but she just couldn’t watch. And this whole evening in the library with Adela, learning she wasn’t the only one who struggled socially…

A little spark of hope started to burn in her chest. Maybe things would be okay here.

When they opened the door to the main lobby of their cabin, Terra could immediately hear the muffled voices of Chika and Soledad. She blinked; the door to the hall was closed. Why did they have their dorm door open? Were they stealing more furniture?

Nest to her, Adela huffed. “Oh, great…”

Terra tensed at the tone of voice, but obediently followed anyway as she stormed to the hall, shoving the door open—

Oh. Their dorm’s door was closed. Chika and Soledad were just being loud. And now that they were closer, she could tell that they were not happy.

She froze in her tracks, fingertips going numb as Adela kept moving forward. Her mind raced to find something she may have done wrong. She’d left a bit of a mess before dinner, but they understood she was unpacking, right? Did they want her to do it in one sitting? Was it rude for her to have not? Or maybe… Maybe they’d lied about liking here and were trying to figure out how to get Tali back. Maybe Terra running from dinner made them realize she couldn’t be on their team. Oh, god, had she really ruined two teams in the span of a week? A day?

Adela opened the door, and it was immediately so loud that Terra flinched and had to cover her ears.

“…million times not to leave your leg in the middle of the floor like this!”

“What do you want me to do, carry it to my bunk with me? I’m not cuddling a hunk of metal in my sleep, Caballero.”

“I want you to put it somewhere out of the way.”

“It’s not in your way. You’re never on this side of the room.”

“That’s not the point!”

There was a soft thunk. “Girls,” Adela huffed. “It is way too late to be fighting like this.”

Soledad scoffed. “Sorry for trying to keep our room tidy.”

“And I’m sorry she’s so anal about where I leave my shit,” Chika snapped.

“Excuse me?!”

“Can you continue this in the morning? When I’m not here?”

“You can’t just hide in your studies when there’s conflict, Dictionary Head. We’re supposed to be a team and work through this together.”

“I’m not hiding. I just think petty arguments like this are pointless.”

“Yeah, okay,” Chika laughed. “So what posters we have hanging above our desks is so important.”

“That's different!”

The door across the hall slammed open, snapping Terra out of her frozen trance with a gasp. A girl in pajamas stormed across the hall; a boy with dog ears curiously followed.

“Prevail!” the girl yelled.

The room went silent.

“It is 11 at night,” she growled. “I know you all have your issues, but I am sick of it keeping my team from sleeping!”

“She started—”

“I don’t care! I literally do not care! Either fix your damn argument, or shut your door!”

It was quiet for a moment. The girl let out a sigh, and her next words sounded slightly muffled.

“Where the hell is Tali?” she groaned. “It’s almost curfew.”

“She’s been removed as our leader,” Adela explained. “Dr. Lani moved her to a different team.”

“Oh, that’s good news!” the boy exclaimed.

“Okay,” the girl said. “Then who—”

“Wait!” Chika burst. “Where’s Terra?!”

“She’s right—” Adela cut herself off. “W-Well, she was with me!”

“You lost her?!”

“No!”

“Then where is she?!”

The bickering began anew, along with a pit forming in Terra’s gut. She knew she should go in, but the fear kept her rooted to the spot. What if her being there made it worse? What if they got angry at her for—

The boy with dog ears stepped backwards into the hall, eyes immediately landing on her. Panic rose I her throat, but he sent a friendly smile. He turned back to the room.

“Calanthe, I found her,” he said.

Immediately, Calanthe stuck her head into the hall; she raised an eyebrow and approached. It took everything in Terra not to run.

“You’re the new leader of Prevail?”

She mutely nodded, tongue suddenly too heavy to move.

“Get a hold on your team,” she ordered. “I am not going to be responsible for this whole hall.”

With that, she turned and stormed back to her own dorm, leaving the door open behind her. The boy winced and hurried over to take her place.

“She doesn’t mean it,” he muttered. “She’s just kind of exhausted after—”

“Come on, Conor!”

He spun around and gave a goofy salute. “Yes, ma’am!” Looking back to Terra, he added, “Welcome to Beacon Cabin!” before rushing after Calanthe and closing the door.

Terra stood in silence for a beat, until she realized all three of her new teammates were standing in the door, watching her. She felt her face head up, and she tipped it down in hopes she could hide.

“S-Sorry.”

There was the flap of wings, and then a pair of thick, muscular arms wrapped around her. “You worried us!” Soledad exclaimed. She pulled back, and Terra had to crane her neck to meet her eye. “What were you doing, hiding out here? We don’t bite!”

“We sure demonstrated that well,” Chika grumbled under her breath.

Soledad clenched her jaw and closed her eyes for a split second, and then opened them again with a smile. “Come on, it’s late. We should get ready for bed.”

“I think Terra can make that decision for herself,” Adela pointed out.

“No, it—it’s okay,” she quickly replied, already shaking at the idea of another fight. “We can sleep.”

Chika turned in the door; belatedly, Terra realized she was using her crutches, and that most of her right leg was gone. Her pajama shorts covered what was left. “Good. I’m exhausted.”

“Move your leg out of the way so Terra can get to her bed!”

There was a beat.

“She flipped you off,” Adela stated.

“Snitch!”

Soledad turned toward the door with a glare, but Terra held her hands over her stomach before she could move. “It’s fine! I’ll just walk around it, it’s okay.”

She sighed. “She’s being so rude, though…”

“It’s okay. I don’t mind.”

Terra hurried into their room and to her desk, where her box of clothes sat on the floor. She grabbed an oversized sweater and a pair of long, thick pajama bottoms before turning to the others, who were all back in the room now.

“I’m just going to, uh…”

She stopped herself. Did they need to know where she was going, or was she just talking too much again?

“Um… I’ll just… be back.”

“Are you wearing that to bed?” Chika asked from her bunk.

“Um… Yeah?”

Soledad frowned, romper halfway off as she opened her dresser drawer. “Won’t you be hot? It’s going to be, like, in the 70’s tonight.”

Terra clutched the clothes tighter. “I’ll be okay,” she quietly said.

Before anyone else could utter another word, she rushed down the hall and to the community bathroom.