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~~((National Yo-Yo Day - page 2 of 20))~~
"Aw, come on, bring it back!" said Roman. "Let me see that again!"

'Lord Goffe, it's okay if I erase his memory, isn't it?"

"No," said Hector, though that question did pull a small laugh out of him, too.

Roman's cackling was cut short when a sudden rumbling arrived.

It didn't last long, but the entire cafeteria shifted, toppling chairs and even a few tables. And it certainly caught everyone's attention. Where before there had at least been a low murmur of discussion, now there was nothing as everyone was simply listening, waiting.

Had that been the storm, Hector wondered? Surely not. Yeah, it had enough strength to make the windows shake, but not the whole building?

Right?

He dematerialized the little barricade he'd made earlier and stood up in order to go check outside. They'd deliberately moved their party far away from all windows, so it was a bit of a trek to find some again.

When he did, however, he was not comforted to see that they were broken--not shattered, since they were presumably designed to be shatter-proof, but certainly in crumbling pieces, nonetheless. And the wind outside was howling even louder than before. It wasn't flowing inside, thankfully, but that was probably just because this area was sitting in a favorable direction. Hector could see the treeline in the distance bending deeply and losing scores of leaves by the second.

"Pauline, where are you?!" said Hector, having to speak louder over the wind.

'I'm safe in one of the hangars,' she said. 'Don't worry about me.'

He did worry, though. With winds like those, he doubted she would be able to fly away if she were put in danger.

But he had others to worry about, too, and another bout of rumbling made sure to remind him of that when it pulled a few screams and shrieks out of the Lorentians.