bethen avilla ; the circle mage (bethe) wrote in thedas,
Out in the open, the contrast of cool, relatively fresh air from the baking heat of the flaming caverns made Bethen feel the cobwebs and soot clinging to her skin and hair, blackening her robes, even more than she had before. As soon as Alden released his grip on her, she felt her leg falter and weaken again, and she caught herself on the edge of a table before easing onto the nearest stool. She had no words, but it seemed she didn't need them, as the barrage of questions that followed their rescue were directed solely toward Constans. It seemed almost unfair, but not unreasonable, and to be frank...most of the chaos that had gone on within the chamber wasn't really her fault, either.
Still, Beth felt oddly...compelled to help her partner out, even if that meant tarnishing her own sparkling record. She didn't need to, she probably shouldn't have, but as Alden began to take on an accusatory tone with the other apprentice, she found herself blurting out suddenly, "I suggested it to him." That was a lie. As she recalled, they'd both expressly agreed that fire was a very, very bad idea, but he'd gone ahead with the spell anyway. Except it had been performed to save her life, so she couldn't be entirely furious about it. He meant well; didn't that count for something? "The spiders weren't retreating, no matter what we did...we were desperate," she added, her voice hoarse and throat burning as she tried to make their actions sound perfectly reasonable.
The Enchanter's expression was still severe, but he softened just slightly at Bethen's explanation. His frown was not nearly as deep, though his brow had arched. It was hard to tell if he couldn't believe that she was covering for the boy, or if he couldn't believe she would have agreed to an idea so stupid. Beth glanced between their teacher and Constans, waiting to be berated, and hoping that the boy would appreciate what she was trying to do for him. After a long pause of deliberation, he sighed and relented, "All right. We need to get you two cleaned up and looked at by a healer. I'll send for Enchanter Petra." Alden uncrossed his arms and strode out of earshot to talk to one of the mages who'd been hovering around the scene.