"Cesar." The name came to her suddenly and without question. Her hair was short- short enough to make her look like a boy. Why not pose as one? She did so while wandering alone anyway. "I’m a page boy. My errands usually take me near Daryl’s classes."
Should she shake ‘G’s’ hand? It was the proper thing to do anyway. But he was looking rather…hostile? No, that wasn’t the right word. Unfriendly? Yes, he certainly was. Brooding?
…Yes, that too. Brooding. What an amusing, yet simultaneously unpleasant sounding word. Upon hearing ‘G’s’ wish for no boots on the bed, Celes crouched down and unlaced her own boots, slipping them off and lining them up neatly next to the bed - just like she was taught in training. Then she hopped onto the bed next to Daryl and placed her own bag on her lap, searching for what she should start on first.
There was an essay to write, math problems to solve, and books to read. But the book was on military tactics, which could easily raise questions from her company. So, she pulled out her math homework; a simple, yet extensive sheet of multiplication and division problems and went right to work.
Well, that was a quick little lie. She had to give Celes credit; the girl was smart. Given who Daryl suspected she might be, and her own concerns about Setzer and the Empire, perhaps it was best to avoid real names. Everything would be safer that way.
"He's got homework. I said I would help." She beamed at Setzer and kicked off her boots, where they tumbled in a heap on the floor next to Celes's carefully laid-out ones. Surreptitiously stealing a glance at Celes's worksheet, she quietly breathed a sigh of relief. That would be easy to check over. Part of her feared that the child would be on some higher math than Daryl herself was. She wouldn't have put it past Cid.
Absently, she stared at Setzer, who had gone back to his work after Celes introduced herself. He had an interesting profile; she mentally traced the line of his nose and his lips several times. And his hair was getting shaggy again, enough that the commanding officers would notice. He was always trying to push the envelope on that particular restriction. She'd have to convince him to let her handle that for him. The last time he'd attempted it himself, it hadn't exactly been what you'd call 'even'.
She had been lost in thought, but when she looked back at the worksheet 'Cesar' was plowing through, she was amazed. "You're sharp at these," she offered Celes, noticing how many multiplication problems the girl had worked through in the matter of a minute. "No mistakes so far. Quick as a whip!"
Her pleasure was short-lived. With a frustrated sigh, Setzer rose from his desk and let his pencil drop to its surface. Uh oh. Whatever he was stuck on, he was really stuck on, Daryl knew. When he went from pencil-chewing to pacing and mumbling to himself, things were serious.
"My bag," she said to him before he could get himself too worked up. Setzer blinked at her for a minute and then, realizing what her request was, grabbed her schoolbag from where she'd thrown it on the floor. He looked about to toss it at her, then paused and pulled out her lab coat that she had wadded up in the bag before following through. She caught it easily and began pulling out her books.
"You need to bounce ideas?" she asked him. It was the gentlest way of inquiring if he needed help.
Setzer shook his head and crossed the room to the tiny wardrobe against the far wall. He fetched a hanger from inside it and hung up Daryl's work coat, smoothing it out as best he could. "Just need more time."
"You could take a break and say a proper hello to Cesar," Daryl suggested. "He's my friend, and you haven't exactly been welcoming."
"You're the one who busted into my room," Setzer reminded her curtly.
"It's not busting in if you gave me the key."
Setzer huffed. "He's a kid," he grumbled quietly, then shook off the sneer on his face and opted for polite neutrality instead. "Willkommen, Cesar. O è meglio usare questo? Tell me. We want you to be comfortable here." The last bit was followed by a smile so wide it went from fake to terrifying.
Daryl rolled her eyes. "Nevermind. If you're going to be an asshole, get back to your work instead."
"Who's being an asshole? At least I'm not cursing in front of the kid."
"He's gonna learn it somewhere, may as well be from me." She nudged Celes gently with her elbow and smiled conspiratorially. "Ain't that right, Cesar?"
