Her fellow senior, Niccolo Calloconti, thinks she's overrating it. "It's Chicago, of course they're worried. Someone attacked one of the biggest American enclaves, and they succeeded. Plus the timing was stupid, which means you can't assume their next move is rational, so it's hard to predict. What else do you need?"

"No, that's not it - not all of it. They got more nervous Friday."

"So they learned more about what happened to Chicago from someone near it."

"That doesn't fit. Not quite."

"If it's Chicago, why are they being quiet about it?", adds Isaia Duccini (Oria's first cousin, a junior), "I can't imagine they could hide something that big."

"Whoever did Chicago's been hiding something bigger, and they haven't hid it very long, don't overestimate them," Niccolo replies.

"Okay, fair point. Oria?"

"I think there's something we're missing," she says, shaking her head, "but I admit I can't see what."

The conversation subsides for a while and the various cousins get some actual homework done.

Teresa and a sophomore head down to the main stacks and return, full of new gossip.

"Something's up. A bunch of reading rooms had half the room milling around in the hallway as we passed."

"Americans?"

"All Anglos, that I saw, but one of the minor British rooms, too."

"New York's in a hurry, then. Somebody should go ask Rome whether they heard anything. Athens and both Constantinoples, too."

A couple cousins stand up, and walk out at a brisk pace.

"Luca, you're more in with the Sinos than most of us, you hear anything?" (Luca is a sophomore, but conversational in Mandarin and nearly fluent, and with reasonable Shanghainese and Cantonese as well.)

"Other than Shanghai having serious dead weight in its freshman class? One of them's apprenticing with this year's nurse for as long as she lasts. There's been churn in their allies already, haven't heard why."

"Do they know Chicago happened?"

"The big enclaves do - Shanghai, Seoul, Kyoto. By dinner tonight everyone will have heard, I think, Sinosphere and all the miscellaneous."

"Huh. So they've got to be thinking about it, right? Maybe that's why the churn?"

"Hmm. Seems wrong? It seemed more like some of their potential allies didn't like their odds of carrying the dead weight."

It's maybe a half hour later when the messengers get back.

"No one's told them anything either. But they've noticed. Paris was milling around like the Anglos. Seems like they visited everyone who got involved in last year's mess, except the ones that started it."

Oria scowls. "Niccolo, you still think it's nothing?"

"No, no, something's happening, it's concerning."

"Alright. Get the twins up here, hole up for a war."

(The twins are juniors - not actually sisters, but they look practically identical, and they're both artificers.)

"That's..."

"It's sufficiently paranoid, Nico."

He starts to argue, but thinks better of it and nods.

Oria turns to Luca next, "Luccino, you up for going around to the Sinos with Niccolo? It's risky, but I don't like our information."

He tenses, squints, thinks... and nods.

Teresa interrupts, "You should have a third. I'll go."

"Teresina-"

"I know the risks, and the locator pins will help."

"You're being an idiot."

"I'm taking a calculated risk, I'm not a child. It's worth it to be out front when people remember what we did when this went down."

Left unsaid: Teresa is Uncle's prize student, and he made sure all the current students know it. She expects to be the strategist for the enclave by her sophomore New Year's, if not outright considered in charge, and she might be right.

They stare each other down. Teresa smirks, then looks away... and Oria scowls again. "Fine. Your head."

"Marino, you have your spare pin? I think it will attune to Luca faster than mine."

"Eh? Oh, yeah, I got it."

Teresa pulls one of hers out and gives it to Oria, and says, quietly, "I'll stick right to Luca and Nico, and give him the fifth. Shouldn't be much ambiguity, that way."

"Why Marino's?"

"Uncle made a prediction. Didn't want it written down."

Oria looked quizzical.

"You'll work it out by the time I get back. Or by the time I don't, in which case you told me so and I will die embarrassed."

"Pff. Watch yourself, cousin."

They leave. Luca makes the call to ask Seoul first. They watch Shanghai like hawks, looking for weakness. Teresa gives Niccolo her second extra pin when they're barely down the hall.

"What's the difference?"

"Mine are a little better at their job."

"Why?"

"Guess! But later, we really should have six eyes watching now."

Nico's frustrated, Luca's ignoring her.

She spots a lookout before either of them one point along the way, but the guy nods when he recognizes them - they're not what he's watching for. Interesting.

It turns out they don't need to go past Seoul. Shanghai has picked a freshman as an associate already, seems to want him as an ally. And he's a maleficer, he admitted it publicly, Shanghai's saying he was self-taught from scratch and promised to stop on a dime. Seoul obviously thinks Shanghai is being stupid - well, mostly that Lan Xichen is being stupid, it's clearly his idea. But Shanghai seems to believe it. Oh, also one of their other potential freshman respectfully broke off their deal when he heard about it - some indie with a Cantonese accent, they don't know him. Luca thanks them for the very important information and asks if they're aware of the trouble in the Anglosphere, which they sort of are - Niccolo advises, in mediocre Mandarin, that they stick together and keep their heads down, Pisa already is though they don't know anything specific.

Niccolo turns to the others when they're around the corner from Seoul.

"That's got to be related. A big enclave picking up a rogue? Something tipped New York off and they wouldn't trust Shanghai's word."

Luca nods. "If Seoul knows, every Sino enclave knows. We could ask Hong Kong for their take? They hear both halves of the school."

"We know what they'll say, though, don't we? If they weren't pulled into the huddle like the Americans."

"...Yeah, I think we do."

"So we go back and hide. Teresa doesn't get to show off; so sorry, presidentessina."

She snorts. "Your call, Nico."