On Arthur's way to the Mess Hall, he noticed many of the phoenixes giving him odd looks. The air about him had taken a dramatic turn.
Whether for better or worse, he did not know. The normally warm smiles of the adults were now masked with indecipherable expressions that went unexplained. Arthur's mind, naturally, leaned towards it being 'nothing good.'
The phoenixes from his age group were acting even more suspiciously. Normally, they would make a snide remark, glare, roll their eyes or at least sneer when he locked eyes with them, but this morning was different.
They all quickly looked away from him and carried on with their activities, like they'd not even seen them.
The tense atmosphere in the castle made it hard for him to comfortably be his loner self, 'Huh, I'm having trouble being a loner! Never thought that was a possibility.'