"Well, it has been three weeks since we've been assigned our teams, and I for one have been dying to ask you something since day one," Cobalt told Titus as Lykos sat down beside him with his tray. They glanced over at the girls who had chosen a table on the other side of the cafeteria, they laughed and waved as the boys spotted them. "What is it like rooming with three of the hottest first years? It either has to be heaven or hell, right? I know that you don't get along with Neela the best necessarily, but I feel like there could be something between you and Ilia, and Eliana is kind of cute in an uber naïve sort of way. So, what's it like?" Titus looked up for a moment from his school work and glanced over at Lykos who shook his head.
"You curious too?" Titus asked Lykos. Lykos wiped his mouth the clear away the excess sauce that the pasta had left around his lips.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but I couldn't care less," Lykos said. Cobalt glared at Lykos for a moment.
"Thanks for the help," Cobalt told him sarcastically. Lykos forced a smile before returning to his meal.
"It's okay. It's been more of a hindrance than anything if you ask me," Titus explained. "They were having a pillow fight in their pajamas the other night. Makes it kind of difficult to study, especially when they're trying to recruit me so that each side has two members. I usually leave when they get unruly. Not to mention, Ilia knows that there's nothing between the two of us, so she typically comes out of the bathroom in nothing but her underwear, expecting to get a rise out of me, no pun intended. Don't get me wrong, she's very attractive, but studying is far more important." Cobalt stared at Titus who looked up from his homework. Cobalt's jaw was slightly slacked and Lykos had stopped eating for a moment.
"I hate you," Cobalt said plainly. Titus shrugged and returned to his work as Lykos shook his head again. "I mean, Lykos over there is the very definition of chivalry towards Bái, but even he can see that you're clearly out of your mind. What are you even working on?"
"Did you really see Ilia in her underwear?" Lykos asked.
"Grimm Studies, and yes," Titus replied still engrossed.
"Color and style?" Cobalt asked.
"She'd most certainly kill him if he told us that," Lykos replied.
"Yes she would," Titus agreed. Cobalt chuckled as he took a swig of his milk.
"Can't blame a guy for trying. I might be great in the leader role when the situation calls for it, but I'm just walking hormones the rest of the time." Cobalt protested. He watched the women for a long moment and sat in silence with the exception of Titus' pen strokes and the sound of Lykos chewing. "So, are Neela and Eliana a thing?"
"No," Titus replied without giving it a second thought.
"But Neela has a thing for Eliana, right?" Cobalt pried.
"I sat over here so that I could get some schoolwork done, but you almost talk as much as the women, Cobalt," Titus grumbled. Lykos looked back over his shoulder towards the girls' table and nodded.
"Yes she does," Lykos replied to Cobalt.
"Everybody knows but Eliana, don't they?" Cobalt asked. Lykos took a large bite of his pasta and nodded. "So strange…" Titus collected up his books and assignments and walked away. "Titus?"
"I need to get some work done Cobalt, I already said that!" Titus called back.
"What do you think the guys are talking about over there?" Ilia asked as she finished her milk. She turned away from the table and tossed the carton, watching as it flew into the trash can.
"Probably our boobs," Tawney offered. "More likely Elli's boobs. She has the biggest rack out of the five of us." Neela's eye twitched as she watched Tawney who was staring longingly at Eliana for more than a few moments. Neela wondered if her body was shaking as hard as she imagined it was. Tawney had made it overly apparent that she planned on challenging Neela at everything, but thinking that she could get Eliana to choose her over Neela was a mistake, and wasn't something that she could defeat her at. Neela kept herself from reaching across the table and choking Tawney to death, but it was one of the hardest moments of self-control that she had ever experienced.
"Lykos-kun would never talk about such lewd things!" Bái exclaimed before blushing and looking back down at her plate.
"I doubt that Titus is either. He's never shown any interest in mine, and he's seen them plenty," Ilia told them. They all stopped eating for a moment and looked at her and she met their glances. "What?"
"You want him that badly?" Eliana asked.
"No, just trying to pick his brain. When he said that he was going to focus on schooling, he wasn't kidding, but he needs to let loose every now and then," Ilia told them.
"With you?" Tawney asked raising an eyebrow. Ilia cracked a grin and shook her head.
"No. I didn't even mean sex necessarily, but that poor guy is going to work himself into the ground," Ilia explained. Neela smirked.
"I get the sneaking suspicion that you've got a thing for Titus," Neela said. Ilia blushed slightly.
"Nah. He's not interested and it's probably best I date someone outside the team," Ilia said. Ilia sighed and looked at her scroll. "The Grimm Studies exam starts in a little over an hour. Anyone want to go study with me in the meantime?" Tawney and Neela stood.
"I could use a little extra studying," Neela told Ilia as she stood also.
"I have to score higher than Neela, so count me in," Tawney said. Neela glowered at her.
"There's just no end to this with you, is there?" Neela asked.
"I have to be better than you Neela. I have to maintain my dignity… Not to mention it's the only way that I can graduate at the top of the class," Tawney explained. "Let's head to the library." Tawney looked at the other two girls. "Are you two coming?" Eliana shook her head.
"I'll stay here with Bái for now. I don't have Grimm Studies this semester," Eliana explained. Bái nodded.
"I don't either,' Bái replied. Tawney smirked and walked away with Neela and Ilia, leaving the other two girls behind. Eliana waited until they were gone before she leapt to her feet and dragged Bái with her over to Cobalt and Lykos.
"What's going on El?" Cobalt asked. She sat down, placing Bái between her and Lykos. Bái blushed at Lykos who gave her a warm smile and Eliana faced Cobalt who had just finished his food, sitting on the other side of the table.
"You guys have Grimm Studies this semester, don't you?" Eliana asked. Cobalt nodded.
"I do," Cobalt replied. "I don't think Lykos does though." Lykos shook his head.
"Not this semester, but I still know quite a bit about Grimm, why?" Lykos inquired. Eliana smiled at the three of them and leaned in, waving them all in towards her.
"I have an idea."
"This is what I get for thinking that the library would be a better place to study than the cafeteria," Titus said to himself as he spotted the girls coming in. He sat at one of the several square tables that were set up in the upper level of the large library and scattered his books and pages out to make the table seem fuller than it was. He called out to them. "Let me guess! If I go back to the room, someone is going to follow me there too, right?!" Tawney leaned over to Ilia.
"Is he always so self-absorbed?" Tawney asked. Ilia nodded as they chose a table several feet away from Titus to avoid distracting him.
"A lot of the time, yes," Ilia responded. Neela shook her head as she sat with them and opened her textbook, flipping through the pages and looking for the chapter they were on. She was sure that she knew the material both forwards and back, Eliana had been kind enough to read the sample questions to her the night before repeatedly. The chapter mostly dealt with Boarbatusks and Ursai, where they were most commonly found, what their attacks were, what their weaknesses happened to be, and where they got their names. Stuff that didn't matter much in the heat of battle, but was still useful to know. Suddenly the doors of the library were thrown open and slammed shut as Eliana rolled in, propping her body against the door, out of breath. She pushed against it as something slammed against it, trying relentlessly to break in.
"Elli?" asked Neela. Eliana smiled and chuckled nervously. Titus looked up from his work, slightly annoyed, and yet slightly interested. "Elli, what's going on?"
"Well…" She grunted as she slammed back against the door. A roaring and growling could be heard. "I wanted to help you study, so I might have let a few Grimm out of the lab downstairs." Tawney smirked as Neela shook her head, trying to hide her smile. "Not my best idea yet."
"You meant well," Neela told her. There was a gleam and excitement in Tawney's eyes as she bounced on her feet beside the table now.
"Let them in!" Tawney shouted. Eliana looked at Neela and Ilia, Ilia nodding as Titus stood up at his own table reaching back for his blades, but noting that they weren't there. He glanced at Neela who came to the same realization about her own weapon.
"Wait!" Neela shouted out. The door burst open and two Boarbatusks ran in with two Ursai close behind, ready to tear them apart. Titus grabbed Neela and dove out of the way as Tawney revealed that she had brought her shotgun tonfas and slammed them together, smashing them against one of the Boarbatusks' heads, but it simply glanced off, causing the beast even more rage. Neela leapt to her feet, dashing out of the way of the other Boar that charged at her and Titus with its spin attack. The first Boar smashed into one of the tables, sending it sliding across the room.
"Didn't you read the chapter, Tawney?" Titus asked. He planted his feet firmly and caught the beast by the horns, lifting it slowly as he spun it around. "Their bellies are their weak point!" Ilia removed her butterfly knife and spun it around in her hand before lashing out and slicing through the Grimm, causing it to slowly dissolve in Titus' grip. Titus tossed what was left of it away and moved to stop the other one.
"Yes, I read the chapter! It's just my preferred fighting method against Grimm is to hit them until they stop moving! I don't usually put too much thought into it!" Tawney shouted back. "That should be enough to stop these Ursai! They don't have much protection on their bellies either and it usually only takes a few solid hits to get rid of them." Tawney saw to it that one of the monsters was defeated at her hand, with the other one turning its attention to Neela.
"You can do it, Neela!" Eliana called out as she ran to her. Neela's mind froze up for a moment, despite the fact that Eliana was standing right there beside her, reassuring her. It wasn't that she was afraid, but that without her weapon, she was far less powerful than they could imagine. Her semblance wasn't one that was conventional and couldn't be used in a helpful matter as fights were happening. She had amazing instincts and her ability to give direction in the midst of battle was impeccable. However, she understood that in a practice match of hand to hand combat against a Grimm, the creature would have the upper hand because she had no tools to assist her. As much as she wanted to ask for Eliana or Titus to step in and help her, her pride was far too great and she braced for impact.
"Hey!" came a shout. Seconds before the Ursa managed to bat Neela away, Jaune had shown up in a flash of light, placing himself between Neela and the Grimm, blocking the blow with his shield. The Ursa instantly disappeared and revealed Lykos standing in the room's doorway. "I'd ask what is going on in here, but it's probably just best that you straighten up the room and we don't tell Glynda." He looked back at Neela who looked up at him and nodded.
"Lykos, that was all you?" Tawney asked. His eyes became dark and he gave an evil grin as he stepped in with Cobalt. Lykos chuckled.
"It was only an illusion, and besides, it was all Cobalt's idea," Lykos said as he glanced over at Eliana who giggled. Cobalt's eyes grew wide and he grabbed Lykos.
"Wait just a minute!" Cobalt exclaimed. In a flash, Neo had arrived next to Cobalt, pulling him away from Lykos and placing her finger to her lips, pointing towards the door for him to leave. He swallowed and nodded as she shoved him towards the door. She pointed at the rest of them and also directed them towards the door as Titus put the table back where it had been and picked up his papers off of the floor. They all nodded and apologized as they left the library. "What was the defense instructor doing in the library anyway?"
"When teachers don't have a class, they take shifts watching the library," Bái explained. Tawney nodded as Cobalt looked over at her.
"Now where can we go to study?" Ilia asked. Neela looked at her group of friends and slowly turned around to find that Titus had disappeared again as he often did. She shook her head and Eliana grabbed her arm as they headed down the stairs to the main floor of the building.
"What is it?" Eliana asked her.
"Titus. He's hiding something. It's been three weeks now and for whatever reason, he just doesn't want to let us in. He has moments, I've noticed them on occasion. He smiles and gets into it, but as soon as the moment passes, his heart becomes stone again so to speak and he goes off on his own. I saw him break character when he was fighting in the library. For a moment there, he was actually enjoying himself, he even saved me when the Grimm first crashed into the room," Neela explained. They reached the bottom of the stairs and waited as the others left, Ilia continuing off with CBLT as she was wrapped up in their conversation. "I want to know why."
"What can we do?" Eliana asked. "If he doesn't want to let us in, it's not something that we can just force on him. He might try leaving again, and he's starting to grow on me. He helped me study for the last history test. I got a perfect score! Plus he's our friend, right?" Neela nodded smiling.
"Of course he is!" Neela hugged Eliana and Eliana squirmed away. "I'm just not sure how to get him to listen to us. I'm sure if he just told us what was wrong, maybe he'd open up."
"I think you're right," Ilia said as she returned to them. Neela cocked her hip and smirked.
"You were standing just around the corner the whole time, weren't you?" asked Neela.
"For someone who has a semblance like yours, I'm surprised it's even possible to eavesdrop on you," Ilia chuckled. "But I agree with your approach to Titus. Perhaps we should do a little team building tonight, maybe get to know each other. I've seen the look in his eyes in my own eyes when I've looked in the mirror before. I chose to be alone because it was the only way I knew how to keep myself safe, but Titus wouldn't need to be alone to do that. He possesses more physical strength than the three of us, and he's got wit that is only rivaled by your own Neela. I think that the loneliness I see in his eyes is for the protection of others."
"Is it from fear?" Neela asked in thought for a moment. "Do you think he's afraid of something and that's why he chooses to be alone?"
"It very well could be," Ilia offered. "What made you think of that?"
"He had an incident during the initiation with a patch of Grimm's Bane," Neela explained. Eliana shuddered and Ilia looked at the two of them.
"Grimm's Bane?" She asked.
"It's a flower that has a strong chemical property to induce fear. If the smell doesn't cause you to stir, contact against your skin can spell very dangerous side effects. Best case scenario, you hallucinate that you're living through the worst nightmare you can possibly imagine. Worst case scenario, the fear becomes too much and your heart stops from the shock. It isn't something that you should ever toy with or take lightly. Most of the residents of Patch have built up immunities, the flower is everywhere on the island," Eliana explained.
"You think he saw something from his past that would have caused him to close himself off from us?" Ilia asked. Neela shrugged.
"It's a possibility, though I doubt he'll be willing to just come out and say it. I saw the look on his face as I woke him up from the side effects. He was horrified," Neela told them. "I'm not sure how we can get him to open up to us. That's probably going to be the biggest issue."
"I wouldn't worry about it too much," Velvet told them as she passed by in the hallway. "People will always open up to you if you give them enough time and trust." She winked at them and kept walked as they watched her disappear down the hall.
"We should probably finish studying," Neela said as she presented her arm to Ilia. Ilia looked at it for a moment. "You're supposed to hook your arm over mine." Ilia looked up at Neela and then at Eliana.
"Why?" Ilia asked. Eliana giggled and Neela facepalmed, shaking her head.
"Never mind. Eliana, try not to get too bored, okay?" Neela told her. Eliana saluted.
"Yes, ma'am!" Eliana left down the hall in the opposite direction of Ilia and Neela and decided to head back to the dorms to be alone for a while. Maybe she'd read a book or get some studying done for one of her other classes. She didn't have much going on for the rest of the day, which left her with endless options. It was a bit different than the afternoons that she was used to back on Patch with her mother. Eliana looked at her scroll for a moment. She had no new notifications and she placed it back into her pocket as she left the campus building and headed over towards the dorms. She wondered how her mother was doing at home.
Eliana and her mother had spent every night together, at least when she wasn't over at Neela's. They only had each other for family after her father had died, Eliana's grandparents had left Patch before they had moved there but had never told Violet. It was unclear whether or not they had just found it time to move on, or whether they had been killed by Grimm, as houses in the middle of Patch were often subject to attack from. She tried not to think about it too much and told her mother that it obviously had to be the former, she knew the idea of her mom losing her husband and parents to Grimm attacks would be too much for her to handle.
Eliana had never had any siblings, so her mother was alone with the exception of a few chickens that they kept for eggs, and Eliana of course. Eliana wasn't able to visit since school had started, and she talked to her mom on a weekly basis, but she couldn't help but imagine that her mother just sat there all alone at home, watching the news every night, and worrying that her daughter would soon be in the middle of the action. The possibility of her death a constant, and a reminder of how fragile her husband's life had been. Eliana shook her head as she stepped off of the elevator and moved down the hall to their room.
She knew better. Her mother was kind and tender, so she no doubt would worry about Eliana, but she was also a fighter. When Eliana was younger, her father had often told her that her mother was far more capable than he was, if only she had the will to. Yes, her mother was a warrior deep inside, but it was typically her deep care for others that kept her from needing to show it. She had been able to rely on her husband when she was younger, and now she had Eliana. Eliana contemplated calling her mom as she opened the door and found that Titus had returned to the room to study. He looked up at her and sighed as he closed his book and slowly slid out his chair.
"Illi?" He asked hesitating. She giggled. He did well during the day of their initiation keeping their names straight, but she found the slip up amusing.
"Elli," she told him once more and he rubbed the back of his neck.
"I'll go find somewhere else to study…" He began to tell her.
"No!" She exclaimed. He stopped and looked at her with intense eyes as she smiled at him. "You're fine! I can be really quiet!" He looked at her for a moment before he smirked and sat back down.
"You're far too selfless Elli," he told her. She smiled warmly still and he placed his book back on the table and returned to studying as she moved to her bed and sat on it. She pulled a book out from under the bed and flipped quietly through the pages before she found her spot, she had creased the top corner so that she could figure out where she had left off before. She had found it in Neela's suitcase on the first day as they were unpacking. Somehow, Blake's Ninja's of Love book had found its way into her luggage and Eliana had snuck it out to read and return later. Titus cleared his throat as he wrote something down and she looked up at him.
"Am I being too loud?" She asked him.
"No. You're fine," he told her. "I have to ask though. How do you feel about Neela?" Eliana set the book down for a moment and looked over at him, tilting her head as he looked back at her.
"What do you mean?" Eliana asked.
"Just… What's your relationship with Neela like?" He asked her. He looked back down at his text and she moved to the edge of her bed, staring out the window at the sky.
"I was in the dark once. It was a bad place. My father had died a few months before we moved to Patch and I didn't want anything to do with anyone. I was scared, confused, and I thought that if I was alone, everything would be easier. It was at first, but inside I was dying. I had a burning desire to be close to anyone, someone, who could help me feel like the world would make sense again. I convinced myself that being alone was for my own good and that it was for theirs too. I was depressed, why would anyone want to associate with me?
That's when Neela came along and she didn't give me the option. She showed me that by being alone, I was hurting her as well. I had never thought of it that way, I only thought of loneliness as keeping myself from being hurt again, but all that Neela wanted was for me to let her in. She was so sincere, and she cared for me so much. I told her about my father, and she cried with me and for me, and it felt amazing. But why? Why was it that sharing my pain made it easier to keep going? If anything I should have been disgusted for making her cry too. She told me it was okay.
She told me that she would help me carry the pain. And she did…" Eliana looked at her shaking hands and looked up at Titus who was watching her intensely. "I would never have made it out of my depression on my own, and I owe it all to Neela. She's so much like my father. They're both so caring, selfless, and willing to do whatever they have to in order to protect the ones they love. My father was the first light that I followed and as I fell into the darkness, Neela was the light that led me out. All that I want in life is to make my father proud and be just like him and Neela."
"Eliana… I'm sorry," Titus told her quietly. She smiled through the tears that fell down her face and he was stunned. How could she be so happy thinking about her father? Surely talking about it must hurt her more than he could possibly know.
"Don't be!" She exclaimed laughing as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "You can help me carry the pain as well Titus! You just need to open up!" He gritted his teeth as his eyes widened and he slowly stood. His body shook and his mind clouded as he stared into the void in front of him. What was this feeling? Had he really been so helpless all along? Was his weakness thinking that he could do it on his own all this time? Could it be that simple as telling Eliana what happened?
"I…" Eliana stood, her eyes still red from her tears as she took a step to Titus and stood just a few inches from him. His eyes were frantic, his body frozen as he stared down at her. Fear gripped him. If you can't do this alone Titus, you'll never be strong enough! They could achieve an even greater strength if they worked together. Who was he supposed to listen to?! Who was right?! "Eliana… I…" Then it happened. Something broke.
Eliana wrapped her arms around him.
Next week, we find out what made Titus so dependent upon himself in Chapter 17 - Titus Dismantled!
A big thank you to Diyaru4500, Demize00Zero, TheCipherNine, SketchHungry, Ookaminoki, Lightning-in-my-Hand, and Dishwasher1910. All of their artwork can be found at Deviantart, you can search Silent-Celica and under my favorites tab, I have a collection for NITE.
Until next week, stay classy!