Chapter 5

The week continued as usual, though there was a small nagging in the back of Cain's mind. Ever since he'd talked with Matthew about coming from Altea, he'd been feeling a bit distracted; even Oswin had noticed it in practice, but Cain claimed he was fine to avoid being sent back to his room. Now, after practice, it was a day in which he would rest his muscles to prevent fatigue from overexertion. He was sitting in one of the lobbies that general students used for studying their academic materials, but there was no one else in the room except for him; he'd left the door open, and there were miscellaneous noises coming from beyond it, but he paid them no attention. Instead, he had a notebook out and was writing in it, completely absorbed in his task.

Matthew, like a few others, noticed Cain seeming distracted during training and the such, and couldn't help but feel concerned. Perhaps it was something he had said? Maybe something had happened? He noticed the other sitting alone in the lobby, and sighed softly to himself. Perhaps he should check up on the other. Unbeknownst to him, his footsteps had gotten quieter and lighter, and he trailed silently across the floor, up behind Cain. He took a deep breath, then put a hand on Cain's shoulder. "Hey."

Cain was totally focused on what he was writing; he'd even doodled slightly, making markings of the Altean crest in the margins next to the words. In addition to the fact that he was already pretty spaced out, Matthew's footsteps were light and practically soundless; he had no idea that the other teen had entered the room... until he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Agh!" He let out a startled cry and jabbed his elbow upwards sharply at an angle, accidentally bashing it into Matthew's cheek and eye.

Cain wasn't the only one who let out a startled cry, though Matthew's was mixed in with pain as he was suddenly struck in the face. Stumbling back, he put a hand up to his face; his eye throbbed painfully. No doubt he'd get some sort of bruise from that... "What was that for?!" He exclaimed, though in more surprise than anger.

Cain's eyes widened as he realized his 'attacker' wasn't an attacker at all, but rather a friend. "Gods! Matthew, you scared the shit out of me." He jumped up from his chair, but not before slamming his notebook closed; the last thing he wanted was for someone to read it. He winced as he realized that he'd jabbed Matthew right in the eye. "Jeez, I'm really sorry... Are you okay?"

"Other than the fact I just got elbowed in the face, I'm fine," he mumbled out, taking his hand off his eye for a moment. It was already turning into a light purple bruise, and seemed painful to the touch. Though, after a moment, he managed a smile. "No hard feelings, I guess. I was cursed with silent feet; can't say this is the first time something like this has happened."

Cain returned the small smile, though his looked sheepish and apologetic. "Come on, I'll walk with you to the nurse. You'll probably need some ice on that." He apologized again as he gestured to the forming bruise. Before they left the room, he grabbed his journal that was on the table and held it close to him, as if he was trying to hide its presence; it was too big to fit in his pocket, but he couldn't just leave it. "Need me to carry you down there?" He joked, after yet another apology.

"I think I'll pass that offer; it's my face that's messed up, not my foot," he said with another light chuckle as he was escorted to the nurse yet again by Cain. Seemed like he was always getting hurt. "I actually came to check up on you. Lately you've seemed so down and distracted... it's a bit worrying. Especially ever since our training session..."

Cain chuckled as they walked, glad that Matthew wasn't upset with him; he'd been so absorbed in what he was doing, he wasn't paying any attention to his surroundings. He felt horrible for accidentally harming the other teen; protecting his friends was exactly why he was here in the first place. "Check up on me...? What for?" He seemed confused until Matthew explained, and then he seemed to go quiet again, his face once more losing its boyish shine. "Oh... I was just a bit tired, that's all." He smiled weakly, and didn't look at Matthew. He was a terrible liar- always had been.

Matthew only let out a loud 'ha!'. "Tired? Well, if you're so tired, then something must be keeping you up at night. Especially after that little speech you gave me a few nights ago, I can't imagine anything getting between you and your training. If anything, I should be the one complaining about being tired."

"There's nothing," Cain insisted, though his argument was weak. "Can't a guy just have an off day?" He tried to make himself sound a bit irritated, but instead he just sounded defensive, which only proved Matthew's point further. "We're almost there. How's your eye feeling?" He changed the subject as he increased his walking pace.

"You've been having an off day ever since you started writing in that notebook of yours," Matthew replied back, though he didn't press the argument any further. He could tell Cain didn't want to talk, and felt a little hurt the other wouldn't talk to him about it. Then again, it wasn't like they were super close, so what did he really expect? He shrugged half-heartedly as he kept up with Cain's longer strides easily. "Still hurts."

"Pssh... It's just a... training log," Cain fibbed weakly, though his attempts to cover it up were halfhearted at best, and he knew it. He clutched the notebook a bit tighter; most of the pages were empty, but there were a few in there with logs he'd written, each after an event that made him think about the past. "Sorry, again..." he mumbled another apology, but still averted his gaze. It was strange for him to be so quiet; it didn't seem like him at all.

It wasn't long before they arrived at the nurse's office, and she swiveled around in her chair to greet them with an amused smile. "You two again? Cain, what have I told you about picking fights?"

"It was an accident this time!" Cain protested, but he started to smile again. "This snake here crept up behind me." He pointed his thumb at Matthew and flashed a teasing grin. It seemed whatever had had him so upset earlier was slowly fading.

Matthew couldn't help but smile as Cain jokingly argued with the cleric; this probably wouldn't be the first time he'd be in the clerics because of accidentally sneaking up on someone; back in Caelin, his friends teased him about being a mouse or even a ghost. He never tried to, he was always just... quiet. "First time I've been called a snake. It's cooler than anything else I've ever been called."

"I bet the other names weren't as nice. I could have called you something like a sneaky son of a b-" Cain's words were cut short as the nurse smacked him over the back of the head for his use of language; he rubbed it overdramatically. "Now I'll need an ice pack too ," he whined, but his fake pout was quickly broken by his smile.

Matthew let out a laugh as Cain was hit over the head for his use of language. "Can't say I haven't been called that," he replied back as he was finally given an ice pack for his face. Pressing the cold pack up against his face, he sighed out softly; hopefully the other knights in training didn't think he got his ass kicked in a fight... Though, he guessed it wasn't too far fetched of an assumption.

Cain laughed as well, and he gave Matthew a friendly- and gentle- punch on the shoulder. "Heal up fast, snake. Training stops for no one."