elenahochbaum, thank you for your review! It was much appreciated :)
#003
The air in the room reeks of the thick, rich scent of condescension and unbridled superiority. Aya has warned him of this last night. Scholars, she said, are by nature arrogant little pricks who feel that they are the answer to every problem Avior ever had.
They're bred this way, she said, and as annoying they could be, sadly they do have the brains to show for their pride.
He had asked her why she and Ezra had strongly suggested that he try out for the scholar position. Because you're different, she said – and not in the way the parents of these other children probably told them they're different. What's brain without a heart? From this past nen that I've known you, I think you do have the heart.
He takes a seat at a desk near the back and observes. As Ezra expected, there are mostly young men his age there, speaking and laughing in their pre-built small groups. Some are reading literature, perhaps to appear qualified for this before the trials even begin.
Out of the twenty-three candidates, there are four young women in there, two of which are absolutely ignored by the rest of the populace.
He turns when another candidate comes in, slightly wheezing and panicked. The boy takes the empty seat to his left, and then sighs of relief. "I thought I wasn't going to make it," he mumbles to himself.
He smiles. "Seems like you really booked it coming here," he says.
The boy looks at him, surprised at first. "'Booked it'?" he asks.
He thinks about it a moment. It's been one of those things that happens more frequently now. He remembers expressions and random things out of the blue (none of which are truly beneficial) for no apparent reason. "You ran," he clarifies.
"Oh." He nods then grins sheepishly. "In that case, I did. I did book it."
He nods in return as he powers his desk on.
"I've seen you around town with Chief Ezra. What's your name?"
Name. He smiles as he remembers the one his new family chose, the one that Ezra came across and Kara approved. "Ellis," he says. "You?"
"Sirius. I'm of the Callara."
"Nice. Nice to meet you, Sirius."
"You as well, Ellis."
The room shifts immediately when Aquus comes in with Marren and another scholar whose name he can't remember. The candidates sit up, eyes ahead, as if they're learning a very important lesson at that moment.
Aquus' eyes sweep around the room in a hard, calculating gaze. It softens slightly when he finds what he needed to find. "I am impressed. Usually, we have to wait a little while for everyone to show up. This tera is looking better already."
Ellis chuckles a little at that; it was meant to provide levity. It unsettles him to see straight and even nervous expressions, though. Only about four of them responded appropriately.
"Right. Let's begin. As you can see around you, the trial for being a scholar isn't as...populated as the ones for hunters."
No kidding, Ellis thinks. The Sand Cage was filled to the brim with both candidates and spectators. It was a great deal louder, too.
The Observatory, where their trials are set, only has the candidates and the scholar delegation.
"...will not be easy. As a scholar, if you become one, you are entrusted to provide solution for Avior's inhabitants. To keep moving forward, we must have the brightest minds." A small smirk pulls at Aquus' lips—one that's terribly unfamiliar to Ellis after seeing him countless of times pining for Aya when she wasn't looking. "That you are here must mean that you trust you have the ability for it."
A hand comes up.
"Yes?"
"What will the delegation do with candidates who can't even read basic Aviori letters?"
Students turn in their seat to look at Ellis – not that they even need to do that; he already knows it's directed towards him. "Probably the same thing they're going to do to candidates who were dropped on their heads as babies," he says.
A few of the students giggle. In his periphery, he can see Sirius grinning, doing his best not to break out in laughter.
"Quiet. Please," Aquus asks. He shoots Ellis a look of disappointment before asking the other candidate, "What is your name?"
"Janus. Sa'handi. I'm confident of my abilities enough that I don't need the reputation of the great Chief to precede me."
Ellis scoffs. This kid has problems.
"There is no need to resort to things like this," Marren says. "It will not help your chances any to discredit your fellow candidates."
The candidate only glances at her then turns his sights on Aquus.
Based on that, Ellis can tell that this overly righteous prick don't hold the female scholar's statement to be of any value.
"She is right," Aquus says in support of her. "It will not help your chances any to do things like this. Now, let's continue. For your first test, we would like to see your ability to solve new, intricate puzzles. Scholar Ybrra will be passing down the blocks."
The attention of the candidates is divided between listening to Aquus' further instructions and accomplishing the task of passing back the blocks. Ellis catches a few words from the scholar, such as 'similar patterns together,' 'twist,' 'not timed,' and 'do not expect to finish.' By the time a block reaches him, Aquus is already asking if there are any further questions.
Sirius raises his hand.
"Yes."
"Can you please repeat the instructions? I – I was a little distracted by the blocks. I apologize."
Once again, the tide of pride and disdain rises like high winds inside the room.
Aquus sighs. "Right. I guess I should have waited," he murmurs. "All right. Your objective is to make sure that smaller block with similar patterns are on the same side together. As you can see, the blocks can be twisted by..."
The attention of the room is once again divided—this time from Aquus to the opening of the doors behind them.
Aquus frowns at first out of confusion. Then, "Chief Ezra."
"Senri," Ezra greets with a smile.
"Huntress Aya," Aquus greets. Even from the distance he sits, Ellis can see the scholar's pupils dilating at the sight of her. "Is anything of the matter?"
"No, no. Of course not. Just..." Ezra's smile grows when he finds his boy in the crowd. "We just wanted to watch the preliminaries and be of support. That is still allowed, correct?"
"Yes, Chief. Of course," Marren replies warmly.
"Great."
With Avior's highly respected chief sitting in, the feel in the room considerably changed. It's charged with determination now to prove themselves even more worthy. With the exception of Marren, the delegation seems to be more on their feet as well.
"Right. Let's resume," Aquus says. He picks up the block from the desk behind him. "This is how you can move this around..."
Ellis understands the rules for the most part. He even knows what the sides are. What he doesn't understand, though, is why the block looked familiar. He has never seen it in his entire stay in Avior. Why does it feel like I know this? he wonders.
"As mentioned, you will not be timed. Whenever you want to quit is when you stop," Aquus repeats. "We just want to have an idea of your thinking process. Your desks are set to begin recording you at my cue."
Janus raises his hand again.
"Yes, Candidate Sa'handi."
"What if we finish early?"
Marren and Ybbra exchange glances, both equipped with smirks. A similar expression rises on Aquus' face. "If you do, you are free to leave. You will be done for the day and will be contacted in a few days' time regarding whether you will advance to the next test."
The boy says nothing, only holds onto the cube.
Having received a signal from her superior, Marren steps up. "On your marks, candidates. Ready. Begin."
The candidates' worlds shrink towards the blocks in their hands. A good number of them mentally calculate their plan of attack. Some, meanwhile, rely more on their own tactics as they move the rows and columns around.
Ellis, for a moment, looks at the smaller blocks that make up the cube. Six sides, each side with nine smaller squares. One side will be made up of purple lystors, the other of white Night Shells, still another of pink carnation. The other three seem to be of their corresponding leaves.
Why do you look so familiar?
Deciding to speak to Aya about that later, he begins moving the blocks. He twists and twists and twists them – clockwise, counter clockwise. Sides that makes sense and not. He checks his work once in a while, instinct kicking in every few turns or so telling him either that the pattern he's seeing is wrong or that he's going at the right direction. Then, he continues again.
Nearly ten minutes after they begin, he finishes. He checks his work, sees that all are in correct order, and then raises his hand.
Aquus nods at him. "Yes, Candidate Erid."
"I'm done."
The room stills at that.
"You're done?"
He raises his block to show him.
Confused, Aquus comes closer to check. Marren, Ybbra, and most of the other candidates turn to see, too.
Aquus checks the block, double checks, triple checks.
Lystors, Night Shells, Carnations. Narrow leaves, long leaves, small, circular leaves. "You're done," Aquus says, not believing it even as he says it.
Ellis nods. Unbeknown to him, Ezra smiles in pride behind him. "May I go now?"
"Yes. Yes, you may – you may go."
"He must have cheated."
It doesn't surprise him anymore to see from whom that came from. "We're all of us just seeing this now. How could I have cheated?" he asks.
Janus shrugs. "I don't know. You could have had a look last night and planned everything."
He chuckles. "You are one desperate kid, you know that?"
Janus ignores him. "I request for the delegation to challenge his result," he tells Ybbra.
"Yeah, that's not making you look desperate at all," he notes as Ybbra and Marren glance at each other.
Aquus, reading what his fellow scholars think, rejoins them in front of the room. In a small huddle, they discuss their next plan of action, every once in a while gazing puzzled at his work.
Reading their lips (a skill Aya has taught Kara and him), he catches words such as 'merit,' 'explanation,' and 'wouldn't hurt.'
"Ellis," Aquus calls then waves him in front. "Can you come up here, please?"
With dozens of eyes now focused on him, he walks up to the delegation.
From the box where the other blocks came from, Aquus picks up another one then hands it to him. "Please work on the block again."
"What? I just finished the one you gave me!"
"I understand, but the delegation would like to see what your method was of accomplishing it."
"You really think I cheated."
"Ellis, remember: you are still a candidate. We set the rules." Aquus pushes the block to him. "Work on a block again."
Ellis huffs, snatching it from him. He looks up at Ezra and Aya to see if they understand the injustice and humiliation he had just been subjected to. From Ezra's nod, encouraging him to just continue instead, he sees that they had.
Again, he looks at the cube's sides. He's mad, really mad, but he needs to at least try to focus. He's so sick of these people who always question the things he does. They question even his desire to do good towards them.
Eventually, he grows to the same rhythm he had earlier. Twist, twist, turn. Flip this side, switch that side. Music plays in his head, the tune Ezra plays with his prized wind instrument on nights he can't sleep. Kara says that Aya's mother used to play it for Ezra when he can't sleep. When she died, Ezra had to play it himself.
More than a nen since he came to Avior, the people are still badmouthing the chief when he isn't looking. How can he stand these people? Ellis thinks. They're so mean and vicious.
Five minutes later, he finishes the block. He hands it to Aquus. When he sees the surprise and confusion on the delegation's faces, he asks, "So may I go now?"
"Uh, yes. Yes, you may go."
He leaves them, glaring at Janus as he walks past his desk. On his way up the stairs, he gives Sirius a 'see you later' nod. Ezra and Aya surround him as the three of them walk out of the stunned Observatory. "Overconfidence will get you nowhere," Aya tells him once they are outside.
"Oh, it's not overconfidence, Aya. It's natural talent," Ezra says.
Ellis smiles as the chief claps a hand on his shoulder. The expression doesn't stay on for very long, however.
A twistable cube, colored differently on every side. One that Avior has never seen before but felt so familiar in his hands.
It wasn't talent. It was memory.
Should I tell them? he wonders. But with the proud grin on Ezra's face and the shadow of satisfaction on Aya's, he decides against it.
tera= batch
Senri = title given to the head of the Scholars