The Taste of Coffee

Jude didn't sleep. Not anymore. Not since he'd pacted with Summer. But old habits died hard. He still found himself going to his room every night as if to sleep, only to find himself doing homework instead. He still found himself drinking coffee in the mornings, even though he didn't need the caffeine to wake him up.

He guessed he just kind of liked the taste.

Jude was getting his coffee by the time his brain registered that, oops, the person behind the counter was a Regalia, and by then he was already walking away, trying to figure out what to do with that information.

They might already have a pact. Or they might not. But he couldn't just lurk around, right?

So Jude sat down, drank his coffee for the better part of ten minutes, and figured out what to do. He waited for it to be a bit quieter, and then he headed back up to get a second coffee, and while the barista was making it, he just... said it.

"Are you, uh, playing in the Game of Divine Rights?"

He'd expected a yes. Or a no. Instead he got... something else.

Jude blinked, trying to process what he'd just heard just as she tried to process what she'd just heard, but thankfully it didn't take too long.

"A... proctor? Is that - sorry, I'm not entirely sure what the proctors do. Like, in terms of the game. I know what a proctor is in general."

Jude really wasn't bothered by the laugh as he scooted off to the side, out of the way of any other customers. With a glance, he noted there weren't any for the moment, and he hoped it'd stay that way.

"It doesn't really see like there are that many rules," Jude admitted. "Like... or any, really. I guess it would be breaking the rules to force a regalia to pact?"

Jude thought about it for a moment, and then just sort of thought about what his dad would do if he'd been involved.

Probably a lot of extortion. Probably a lot of arm twisting.

"I suppose the regalia are kind of... vulnerable?" Jude admitted. "People know they have powers, and they know you can grant those powers, so it stands to reason someone could... I don't know, hunt you down to try and make you grant them."

Jude considered that for a moment. "You mean, someone who didn't get Cornelius's blessing, but who tried to pact with a Regalia? I guess if you didn't get a letter, you might not know where to go. I had to point my guardian on where he should be heading, but if they dind't have someone who knew..."

Well, it was a bit confusing on how to get started.

"So Cornelius is in charge, and there's a bunch of proctors keeping an eye on things..." He considered that for a moment. "Are there other people helping run things, or just the proctors and Cornelius...?"