Golden Thorns Chapter Twenty-three
Coran gazed out the window with a glum expression. At beacon academy rain was a rare occurrence. In fact he had been to the med bay more than he could remember it actually raining during his time on campus. It had been going all day with surprising vigour. When it did rain, it really did rain. Hard.
So far Coran, Jo and Dev had spent the Saturday morning normally set aside for sparring shut up in their room trying to remember what strategy Ports grandfather had used to take down the three Ursai that one time during that one battle….
Coran jerked awake. He looked around. Jo was perched on her bed, staring at him, barely containing fits of giggles. "You fell asleep on your notes…" at which point the spasms exploded out of her like lava from a volcano.
"Why the laughter?" he mumbled groggily
"Mirror… look…" she managed to spit out through the teary-eyed heaves.
Trying to shake off the clinging remains of fatigue he stumbled his way to the en suite that they shared and looked into the large mirror mounted on the wall. Sure enough written in superb detail across his cheek and temple were his writings, clear enough to read.
"D'arvit." The fuzziness of his brain continued to plague him as he scrubbed away at the ink. "Hey Jo, where's Dev?"
"Went to the library. Said he needed to return a book." Breathing seemed to be coming to her more easily now. Walking out of the bathroom he discovered that she was lying on her bed reading a comic. The rain had slowed slightly. He went over to the window, threw it open and took great gulps of fresh air. Rain always made him drowsy, not to mention the stifling heat of their dorm room.
A thought occurred to him, "wait, the book wasn't 'the thirteen beowolves' was it?" he asked her.
"Yeah," she replied without looking up, "why?"
"I still need it for Port's other essay." Coran burst into a run. Unlike most librarians, the ones at Beacon were kind (as librarians go) but horribly inefficient. If he didn't catch Dev before the book was signed for he wouldn't see it for at least a week. And that essay was already late. However he didn't find Dev at the library. He didn't even get that far. He ended up flat on his face, eating carpet in one of the many corridors.
"I guess we're even?" a disgustingly smug voice said from somewhere above and behind him.
"I don't suppose you even brought the book with you." Coran said, chewing the rug from his position at the very scaly feet of his teammate, working out exactly what had happened.
"Oops! Must've forgot." He chuckled, quietly smiling.
"If you are still standing there by the time I get up that book is going to be the least of your worries." the not-so-veiled threat spat out through gritted teeth.
"Okay, okay. Was just a joke!" he said nervously, backing away a couple of steps.
"You see me laughing." Coran was on his feet now, looming over Devlyn and staring straight into his slit like pupils. At which point they both collapsed into fits of laughter. Great heaves that brought tears to their eyes and threatened to tear their ribcages. This went on for some minutes. Both of them laughing for no good reason and yet unable to stand. As the hilarity began to subside Coran rolled over and opened his eyes to find himself staring at two heavy looking tan leather boots; attached to two very, very long legs that seemed to go on for forever. He felt a slight drip on the top of his head and looked up to see a girl, roughly the same age as him, glaring down at him. The drip was coming from her incredibly blonde hair, which was absolutely drenched, hanging limply off the top of her head like a depressed spaniel.
"Something funny boys?" she snarled as the yellow gauntlets on her wrists shifted and locked into place.
"Huh?" was all either could manage before the boot came down on Coran's face.