"Ugh, I hadn't even thought of that. Thanks." Francis made a face expressing just how unpleasant he considered that notion. "Look, you don't have to fight it. Everything goes well, the seal doesn't get broken, you won't even have to meet it, ever.<br/><br/>"As for Rory... it's... something you see sometimes with older children. Being competitive, you know? Wanting to keep all the attention, being less than thrilled knowing there's going to be another kid in the family? It's like that. They crop up sometimes, I've seen it before. I wouldn't say he's<em>good</em>, I definitely wouldn't say he's<em>nice</em>, but his enemies are your enemies.<br/><br/>"As to who took the relics... Can't say for sure, but my best guess is a cult. There wasn't any big, flashy magic, so they probably aren't Titanspawn. Or, at least, they aren't high up on the food-chain. If they're cultists of the... thing under your school, they probably either want the relics so they can better serve it... or they plan to sacrifice the relics in a ritual to awaken it.<br/><br/>"Or it could be they're just thieves. Some mortals that know about magic traffic in things like relics, when they can get their hands on them, sell them for enormous sums, or use them for their own ideological ends, having no idea that the world as humanity knows it will pretty much end if we lose because they nick the birthrights..."<br/><br/>Francis trailed off as he watched her change the clothes into a set of shades and grinned at her. "... You're picking this up pretty fast, aren't you?"