Two weeks went by and Onmund couldn't have been more content as a pupil at the College of Winterhold. Now juggling two schools of magic, he studied very hard, sometimes staying up past midnight to read up on his incantations. He learned to function on very little sleep and sometimes even ended up skipping meals- not on purpose but because time seemed to get away from him on occasion. But it seemed to have no ill effect on him; he was acing his oral and written exams in both Tolfdir's and Colette's classes and had not only his professors' favor, but also those of the scholars and wizards at the College. People like Arniel and Faralda complimented him, saying things like, "I wouldn't be surprised if you became Arch-Mage one day."
Onmund was relishing the attention. Not only that, Bridgette seemed to look up to him. She had eventually taught him the Healing spell and in return, he taught her Sparks and Lightning Bolt. She was a friendly girl, albeit blunt at times. After getting to know her a bit, he found out that she was an Imperial orphan from Cyrodiil, who ended up in Skyrim only after escaping from the orphanage she had lived in since childhood because she "wanted to see the world." She ended up taking the carriage from Whiterun to Solitude and it was there where she met Colette, who impressed upon her young mind the dreams of becoming a mage.
Onmund saw his fellow Apprentice Destruction mages, J'zargo, Brelyna, and of course, Danielle, very little outside of class. Every once in a while, he and J'zargo would hang out and trade jokes during meals. J'zargo's new thing was to tease him about his "wanting to become a temple priest" because of his interest in Restoration spells. But he took it all in stride. Brelyna's attitude towards him, though, seemed to change altogether. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but she almost seemed to shun him in a way, as if his dabbling in other schools of magic was somehow bad or diluting the purity of their class. And Danielle…well, he didn't see her much at all, aside from their training sessions and passing her on occasion in the courtyard or main hall, but she was always with someone like Tolfdir or one of the other faculty members and they only managed cursory glances at each other. In truth, it was still hard to stop thinking about her. She still managed to stir up some old feelings within him whenever he saw her in class or his thoughts drifted towards her in the still of the night. She was as extremely busy as ever. She had been giving Brelyna some one-on-one remedial training because she was struggling with some of the spells and even took her out on a field trip for a day. She had constant visitors in her quarters from within and outside of the College wanting to discuss important business. He felt like she had pretty much forgotten about him.
So it was that Onmund put thoughts of Danielle on the back-burner and tried to focus on his studies. He also finally wrote a letter to his parents; he hadn't written to them since coming here. It was a pretty brief letter- it just let them know that he had made it to Winterhold in one piece and was doing very well. He also inquired whether they were doing well. But two weeks had gone by and he got no reply from them. This somewhat troubled him but he figured that they were still angry with him for leaving on such bad terms. It's just as well, I guess, he thought. If my parents have cut me off, then there's nothing I can do about it. I've been flourishing in my new life, anyway, and I've acquired a new family. He decided to put them out of his mind for the time being.
One day, he was in the training hall with Colette and Bridgette, and Colette asked him, "Are you ready to try learning Healing Hands?"
Ready? I'm ready for anything! he thought to himself. I've already learned Healing, so I'm ready for more advanced Restoration skills! "Yes, I am," he said.
"Then, I'll go ahead and teach you," she replied. "I want you to try it on Bridgette."
"Okay," he responded and stood facing Bridgette. "Now I first need to put my hand on her forehead, where the positive energy flows in, right?"
"That's right," Colette replied.
Onmund proceeded to place his large hand on her forehead. "Then, I put my hand somewhere where the negative energy flows out?" he asked.
Colette nodded. "And where is that?"
"On the affected area or wound," he answered, remembering his walkthrough with Bridgette. "Or the heart if there isn't one or it's unknown."
"You got it!" Colette exclaimed, smiling approval.
"All right, where are you hurt?" Onmund asked Bridgette.
"Where do you think I'm hurt?" Bridgette challenged with a smirk.
He chuckled nervously, not knowing how to respond. Colette cut in, "Bridgette, be serious."
With a mischievous grin, Bridgette declared, "I've been struck in the heart."
"Okay, I'll just have to put my hand there then," he said. He then placed his hand on her heart, which he could feel beating even through her robes. He noticed that she stared up into his eyes as he did this. He quickly averted them and focused them on his hand and then said, "And now for the incantation." He closed his eyes and concentrated his magicka into his hand on Bridgette's heart and recited the incantation, which he had memorized prior to the class. As he spoke, he could feel the magicka flow from his hand outward into Bridgette. It felt unlike any of the Destruction spells he had learned. As he finished the incantation, he opened his eyes.
Bridgette was still gazing up at him, her cheeks flushed a bright pink.
"Did he do it right?" Colette asked her.
"Absolutely," she responded.
"Congratulations, Onmund," Colette declared. "You have now mastered three basic Restoration spells."
Onmund beamed, feeling good about himself. "Thanks!"
"Onmund, I wanted to ask you something," Colette continued. "I am aware that you have other obligations, but I was wondering if you wanted to go with me and Bridgette to the field tonight."
"Tonight?" Onmund questioned. "And, uh, where are you going?"
"To Mount Anthor," she answered. "There is…something there that I need for my research. We may even have to spend the night."
"Spend the night? I don't think I can. I have class with Tolfdir in the morning."
"I can ask him to excuse you. It'll only be for that one class."
"Um, well, I'm not sure about that…"
"It would be better if a man were there," Bridgette chimed in, giving him a pointed look.
"I don't know…" Onmund hesitated. "What is it exactly that you're looking for?"
"I'm looking for scales from a dragon," Colette answered.
Onmund and Bridgette looked at her incredulously. "A dragon?!" they both cried out at the same time.
Colette nodded. "I'm trying to develop a new, powerful ward spell. Dragon scales are some of the strongest materials known to man, and it's a crucial ingredient. I know that there is one living on Mount Anthor. Our best bet is to kill it while it's sleeping."
"I've never seen a dragon before!" Bridgette declared.
"They're nothing to mess with," Onmund said.
"You've seen one then?" Bridgette asked, her eyes wide.
"Uh, yes," he replied, not sure now if he should've opened his big mouth.
"Then that's perfect!" Colette exclaimed. "Onmund, you must come with us tonight. Your skills and experience are absolutely necessary for this endeavor!"
"But, what about Tolfdir?" he asked uncertainly.
"I'll take care of Tolfdir," Colette assured. "We'll come back tomorrow morning, I promise. You won't miss any other of your obligations for the day. And…if this spell succeeds, I will give you and Bridgette due credit for helping me develop it."
Onmund didn't like the idea of missing Tolfdir's class, but he had to admit, the prospect of helping develop something brand new at the College sounded exciting. I have to think outside of my little world and shoot for ambitious goals every once in a while! And what's one class, anyway? All they had been learning was the same old thing everyday…practicing their spells, making more efficient use of their magicka, and learning about history. It was so easy, almost to the point of boredom. He decided to take Colette's offer and meet up again tonight.
As Onmund and Bridgette left the training hall and Colette went off to find Tolfdir, Bridgette said to him, "You're really good at those healing spells. You must be good at a lot of things with your hands."
Onmund gulped as he looked into her intense stare. That was definitely a come-on, he knew, getting nervous again. He tried to shrug it off and said as nonchalantly as he could muster, "Thanks. You taught me well, I guess."
"You know, you're really nice," she complimented. "I think you're one of the nicest people at this College."
"Thank you," he replied. He really did appreciate the compliment. "I think you're really nice, too."
"So, where do you like to study?" she asked. "Do you study by yourself in the Arcaneum?"
"No," he replied. "I study by myself in my room." I used to study in the Arcaneum with Danielle before she became Arch-Mage but that arrangement quickly fell apart, he remembered.
"That's a shame," she remarked. "Someone as friendly as you shouldn't have to study alone. Whaddya say we be study partners?"
Once again taken aback by her forwardness, he replied, "Uh, sure, I'll be your study partner if you want me to."
"Fabulous," she declared. "Well, I'd better go back to my room. I have some things to do before we go out to Mount Anthor tonight. See you later, Onmund."
"All right, see you later, Bridgette," he said and waved her off.
At 6PM, Onmund, Bridgette, and Colette met in the training hall to depart for their trip to Mount Anthor.
"Everyone have everything they need?" Colette asked.
"Yes," the two students replied.
"All right, then let's go!"
As they left the College grounds and the town of Winterhold into the northern mountains nearby, Colette explained to them what their plan was going to be. "We're going to set up our tent near the summit and wait for the dragon to come and roost for the night. So that it won't detect us, we'll cover the tent with a layer of snow beforehand so that we blend in with the landscape. That also means we won't be able to make any fires. So it'll be a little uncomfortable. But I brought some Potions of Resist Cold that we can drink throughout the night to make it more bearable. When the dragon's fast asleep, we'll sneak in and attack and hopefully we can take it down easily that way."
Sounds like a plan, Onmund thought. I sure hope it works.
As they ascended the mountain path, he told them about his experience with dragons. He told them about how he had fought and killed a dragon in Kynesgrove and in Labyrinthian. He had mentioned that Danielle was with him both of those times, but he didn't tell them about how she had handled the battles or about her healing Roggi. They didn't seem to care, anyway, rather wanting to hear more about his personal experience.
He explained to them, "You'll want to ward right away when it opens its mouth. They can breathe fire or ice. Watch out for their teeth and claws. They can swipe you with them. And they can hit you with their tails, too. They're hard to hit in the air but I can hit them just fine with lightning spells."
Bridgette and Colette were enthralled with his stories. They soon reached the peak of Mount Anthor and they could see the dragon roost above a Word Wall. Word Walls were stone walls carved with incantations written in the dragon language. Very few people in Skyrim understood what these incantations were and what they meant and Onmund was definitely not one of them. The three mages didn't have time to examine the Word Wall too closely as they had to get their camp set up before the dragon returned to its roost. So he helped them set up the tent and the bed rolls inside and then they covered the surface of it with a thin layer of snow so that it looked white. They then went inside and waited.
Soon, they heard the sound of great wings flapping. They all went silent and exchanged glances with each other. The flapping sound grew louder and Onmund whispered, "It's coming."
Colette and Bridgette nodded, and they all listened as the flapping sounded like it was right over them, then there was a sound like a tree falling on stone, and then all was quiet. Bridgette's eyes were wide with fear.
"Wait until it's fast asleep," Colette whispered very quietly and Bridgette and Onmund nodded.
It was an uncomfortable wait, as they had to make very little noise and movement as possible, and everyone except Onmund started to shiver. However, reaching for a potion now would require them to make a little bit too much noise.
After a long wait, and hearing no further sounds outside, Colette whispered again, "It's time."
Very quietly, each of the mages climbed out of the tent, one-by-one. As Onmund crawled out of the tent, he looked up and saw the dragon right there in front of him, perched up on top of the Word Wall, its wings folded around its body and its head tucked underneath. What a frightening sight, he thought. I've never been this close to a sleeping dragon before. I sure hope we can take it down quickly.
Colette was the last one to emerge from the tent, and she motioned for the three of them to spread out. She was holding a Staff of Sparks in one hand and a Staff of Frostbite in the other. She gave the latter to Bridgette, who nervously took it and walked away. Onmund readied his lightning spells and took his position right underneath the dragon. When everyone was in place, they looked over at Colette who waited a second or two, and then gave the signal. All three of the mages held their staves and hands up toward the dragon and bombarded it with their spells simultaneously.
As soon as it was hit, the dragon gave a start and jumped up, flailing its wings. It flew up into the air and out of sight.
"Oh, no!" Colette cried. "Did we scare it away?"
Onmund looked at her uncertainly but didn't say anything. Somehow, he doubted it. The wind was starting to pick up, and he listened hard. He then heard the flapping of wings again and he warned, "Get ready to ward. It's coming back."
The flapping of wings grew louder and the dragon emerged again over the mountain top, and as it flew over them, it sprayed them with frost. All three mages threw up their wards to avoid the blast.
Things then started happening quickly. Onmund whipped around to strike the dragon with Lightning Bolt as it circled around them and Bridgette and Colette were trying to hit the dragon with their spells, too, but missed. Everyone ducked out of the way as another spray of its frosty breath came down upon the mountain. Scrambling to their feet, the mages looked up again to see the dragon circle around the roost and land. They then let out another barrage of attack spells as the dragon roared out in pain.
"My magicka's all gone!" Bridgette suddenly shouted, dropping her staff.
Without a moment's hesitation, Onmund ran over to her as the dragon steadied itself. He knew what was coming next. As Colette still hit it with Sparks, the dragon lowered its head towards Bridgette.
"Get behind me!" Onmund shouted to her as the dragon started to open its mouth.
Bridgette crouched behind him as Onmund quickly put up his ward to protect both of them from the icy blast from its mouth. As soon as the blasting ceased, he shouted up to it, "Now this is the part where you fall down and die!" He held out both of his hands and let forth a powerful dual-casted Lightning Bolt spell, which struck the dragon and stunned it momentarily. Bridgette stood up from behind him and watched awestruck as the dragon struggled to stay on its perch, but now severely weakened, it lost its balance and slipped off.
He saw Colette standing under it and yelled to her, "Colette! Run!"
Colette saw the dragon about to fall right on top of her and she broke into a run towards them. The dragon fell off of its perch and crashed onto the ground in front of the Word Wall, nearly throwing all three of the mages off balance as the ground shook. Its body now lay still.
The three mages cautiously looked on as silence began to fill the mountain top again, and coincidentally, the wind started to die down.
"Did you kill it?" Bridgette asked.
"I think it's dead," Onmund confirmed.
"Wow," Colette breathed. "What a sight!"
She then cast Candlelight so that they could all see better and they slowly approached the dragon's body. With the light hovering over them, Onmund could see every scale and vein on the dragon's body. Colette reached into her pocket and pulled out a small dagger. She then proceeded to slice off a few of the dragon's scales. Each was about as big as his hand and as thick as a book cover.
"Well, that's that!" Colette finally said as she put the scales into her satchel. "You two have done a fine job at bringing this creature down."
"Oh, it was Onmund who pretty much brought him down," Bridgette gushed. "You were amazing!"
Onmund smiled humbly and said, "Thanks. I guess I am glad that I came along."
"How does everyone feel?" Colette asked. "Do we want to head back to the College now or stay up here? Personally, I am exhausted."
"Oh, I'm tired, too," Bridgette agreed. "We can head back in the morning."
"Well, I suppose I can stay up here for the night, then," Onmund said. "Was Tolfdir okay with me missing class tomorrow?"
"Yes," Colette assured. "I talked to him earlier today and he said it was fine. Said you can talk to him when you get back to see what you missed."
"All right…" he replied. "Let's get back inside the tent then."
The three of them climbed back into the tent and the two women immediately drank some Potions of Resist Cold before climbing into their beds. Onmund climbed into his and they all said good night to each other before falling silent.
As he stared up at the ceiling, he tried not to think too much about missing class the next day. He could very well just head back to the College by himself right now but that would mean leaving the two women alone on the mountain, which he could not find in himself to do. Colette already talked it over with Tolfdir, and he had given his permission, so there's nothing to worry about, he reminded himself. He then wondered what Danielle would think. He imagined that both she and Tolfdir would've had to have given their permission for him to miss still couldn't quite figure out what she really thought about him and his new ambition to learn Restoration magic on the side. He thought she would have been proud of him, but her demeanor towards him ever since their encounter in the training hall two weeks ago seemed to tell him otherwise. Why would she have a problem with it? he wondered. I just don't get it. Maybe she just has something against Restoration magic. He did notice that she had never touted her expertise in Restoration with pride. She used her knowledge and skill when it was a necessity, like when she had healed Roggi after the dragon attack and when she had healed him during the battle with Morokei. But she seemed more excited about Destruction than anything. If he remembered right, the life of a pure Restoration mage meant a life of confinement and boredom for her. While he could understand that, he just wished that she could give more credit to the art. Restoration wasn't all that boring and bad.
He found himself reaching into his pocket to find the piece of Malachite Ore that she had given him, and was slightly disturbed that he couldn't find it. He then reached into his other pocket, and when he didn't find it there, either, he started to become alarmed. Oh, no, where did it go? he wondered with worry. It didn't fall out did it? That was my only reminder of…of her. His heart sank as he realized he had lost the ore. I should've put it away in my room, in the safety of my drawer or something. But he had kept it in his pocket since the day she had given it to him, sometimes reaching into it to feel the rough texture of it or to squeeze it and remind himself of all of the good times he had with her, back when they were mere Novices. So much had changed between them in a short amount of time. He realized that she hardly even paid attention to him anymore. He hadn't had a real conversation with her in a long time. And for whatever reason, he noticed an air of disdain towards him ever since finding out he had taken up his secondary focus of study. It's not just because she's Arch-Mage that she's been this way towards me, he knew. I think she's losing interest in me completely. It pained him to think so, but he knew it was the cold and hard truth. He soon fell asleep, and with the negative thoughts still in his head, he had nightmares. Some of the nightmares had him eaten up by the dragon and some others had him watch as the College was destroyed, and he was helpless to stop it.
He finally woke up as the first light of dawn began showing in the tent, and he sat up and rubbed his eyes. Looking around him, he saw that Bridgette was still asleep and Colette's bed was empty. He stuck his head outside of the tent and glanced around. The dragon's body was still lying off to the side where it was the night before and a light snow was falling. He climbed completely out of his bed and started rolling it up. All the noise he was making stirred Bridgette awake. She opened her eyes and looked at him. "Good morning," she said groggily, stretching.
"Good morning," he replied, continuing to roll up his bed.
She sat up and slowly climbed out of her bed. "Where's Colette?" she then asked when she noticed the empty bed next to her, as well.
"I don't know," Onmund shrugged. "Probably went outside for a bit, I'm guessing."
As Bridgette crawled out of her bed, she suddenly stopped, noticing something on the ground beneath her. She picked it up and examined it.
"What is it?" he asked her, packing his bed roll away.
"I don't know, I just found it here," she replied.
Onmund crawled over to her to get a closer look and then gasped. It was the Malachite Ore that he thought he had lost! "Give me that!" he cried and snatched it away from her.
She gawked at him, surprised at his urgent reaction.
"I'm s-sorry," he immediately apologized, feeling embarrassed by his sudden outburst. "I've just…been looking for that."
"What is it?" she asked him.
"It's a piece of Malachite Ore," he answered. "It's very valuable."
"Oh…" she replied slowly, looking at him with a disapproving sort of look.
"But, I mean…that's not why I'm so attached to it," he explained feverishly, worried that she might take it the wrong way- that he was greedy or something.
"Why are you attached to it, then?" she questioned.
"Um…well…" he started, not sure if he wanted to explain the real reason to her. "It was just given to me by someone. Someone special."
Raising one eyebrow, she echoed, "Someone special? Who?"
Onmund really didn't want to tell her who it was, so he didn't answer her at first. So she then spoke up again. "Girlfriend?"
"N-no," he answered quickly. "I mean…I don't have a girlfriend. Just…a friend of mine gave it to me."
"Is it a she?" she asked.
"…yes," he responded.
"How sweet," she gushed. "She must mean a lot to you then, huh?"
Onmund hesitated before slowly nodding his head in the affirmative.
"I'm such a sucker for stories like that," she admitted. "Someday you'll have to tell me all about her. But don't worry, I won't make you do that right now. I was actually wondering if you had any Resist Cold Potions. I think I ran out of all of mine."
"No," he replied. "I gave all of mine to you and Colette because I didn't need any."
"Oh. Damnit," she said. "And Colette must've taken her satchel with her."
"You cold?" he asked.
"Yes," she replied. "I hate this climate. I don't know how you can stand to live in it all your life."
"I'm used to it, I guess. Uh, would a Healing spell warm you up?" he suggested.
This made Bridgette chuckle a little. "No, why would you think that?"
"I don't know," he shrugged. "I've heard healing spells are good for thawing out something that's frozen."
"Really?" she asked, intrigued. Grinning at him, she scooted closer to him and asked, "Are you offering to warm me up?"
Onmund gulped, taken by surprise by her flirty tone. He hadn't meant his question to mean that he was offering to heal her himself, but he realized that it came out that way. "I-I-I could try casting it on you, I guess," he stammered nervously.
He started to raise his hand up to her forehead but she surprised him when she uttered, "Hold me."
"What?" he questioned, putting his hand down, not sure if he had heard her right.
"Hold me," she repeated. Amused at his surprised expression, she said, "It's how we stayed warm at the orphanage. We all considered each other brothers and sisters. Just think of me as your sister if you're uncomfortable with it."
Onmund gulped once again, but he reached out and tentatively wrapped his arms around her. She leaned her body against him and cooed, "Ooh, you are warm!" She then snuggled up close to him.
At first, he thought, This actually does feel pleasant. It's warming me up, too! But after a few seconds went by, he started to feel awkward because he couldn't think of anything to say and something about it just didn't feel right. Even when he did try to pretend she was his sister, the fact of the matter remained that he was holding a strange woman in his arms.
Suddenly, Colette appeared in the tent entrance, causing Onmund to immediately retract his arms and jump away from Bridgette. But it was too late. Colette saw it all, and his jumping back certainly didn't help in making the situation look any better. A smirk spread on her face. "Um, do you want me to come back in a few minutes?" she asked.
"N-no!" Onmund replied forcefully, now completely flustered. "Please come on in."
"All right," she responded slowly, seeming to stifle a grin. She crawled into the tent with them, carrying a bottle. "I was just outside experimenting with the potion. I guess I couldn't help myself. But, it didn't quite work the way I thought it would, so…I think it's best if we returned to the College now."
"Okay, sounds good," he agreed with enthusiasm. He couldn't stand the knowing expression on her face as she looked back and forth between him and Bridgette. He wanted to tell her, Whatever you saw, it's not what you think it is. It's not what you think it is, at all. He mentally shook his head at himself as he packed everything up including helping them fold up the tent. That was really embarrassing, he thought. Now Colette thinks we were up to something and we totally weren't! I was just being nice, that's all. He looked over at Bridgette as they packed up the tent and started on their way back to the College. She's a nice girl and I like her, but I just don't want her to get the wrong message. I don't see her in that way. She understands that, too, right? He began to grow worried, but he figured there wasn't anything he could do about it lest he make the situation worse, so he walked in silence with them all the way back to the College.
It was now a little past 10AM, and the three of them stopped in the courtyard to wrap up their field trip.
"Well, thank you, Bridgette and Onmund, for assisting me on that trip," Colette said. "Bridgette, why don't you go ahead and rest a bit? We'll begin class in about half an hour. Onmund, I will see you tomorrow."
"See you," he said to them and watched both of them retreat into the Hall of Countenance. He decided to go into the Hall of Elements and see if he could perhaps catch Tolfdir or any of the other Destruction students and inquire about what he missed. Their class had probably ended already but sometimes they stayed behind in the training hall to chat or practice their spells for a bit.
He went inside and walked straight into the training hall. It was completely deserted, so with a sigh, he turned around to go back outside.
"Onmund," he heard someone call out to him.
He looked over to his right, and saw Danielle standing at the doorway to the Arch-Mage's Quarters. She was alone. His heart skipped a beat as he walked over to her and said, "Hello."
Without a word, she gestured for him to step inside the doorway and they went in. She shut the door behind them and they began climbing the stairwell. "You missed class this morning," she commented.
He nodded. "I was out helping Colette with something. Didn't Tolfdir tell you?"
"He didn't tell me until this morning," she told him.
"Oh," he responded. "She, Bridgette, and I killed a dragon on Mount Anthor last night."
"You killed a dragon?" she asked incredulously. "Is-is everyone all right? No one got hurt?"
"No," he assured her. "We're all fine. So…what did I miss this morning?"
Frowning, she looked away from him. "You…you didn't miss much. Tolfdir gave us all an assignment, though."
"What was it?" he asked.
She looked back up at him, studying his face for a second before finally saying, "We are all to recreate a spell from scratch. It doesn't matter what type of spell we choose. It doesn't even have to be a Destruction spell, either. We are to present our spell to him next week in class. There's several catalogues in the Arcaneum that we can look at to give us ideas."
"Oh. Wow," he said in amazement. "Recreate a spell from scratch, huh? That's going to be…that's going to be a challenge. Were you given the same assignment, too?"
"We were all given the assignment," she answered in a somewhat curt tone. "Arch-Mage or not, I'm still a student of Tolfdir's."
"I know that," he said, somewhat taken aback by her sharper-than-normal tone. "So what spell are you going to recreate?"
"I don't know yet," she replied more softly this time. "I'll probably be doing a lot of research tonight and tomorrow."
He started to lose himself in her eyes again, and with that, he could see a hint of apprehension in them, and he wasn't sure what it was all about. However, he tried to keep himself rooted in reality. He was very tired, and he just wanted to go back into his room and take a nap. Staying here in her presence was starting to wear on him. He asked, "So is that all I missed?"
Danielle nodded.
He was about to take his leave, but then she suddenly spoke, "Onmund, can I ask you something?"
He looked back at her warily, his attention all hers, though.
"Tell me the truth," she started apprehensively. "Are you…starting to lose interest in Destruction magic?"
Shocked that she would ask such a thing, he shook his head fervently. "No," he answered firmly. "No, I'm not losing interest. Why would I be?"
She didn't answer him at first, so he went on. "Is it because I missed class today? Is that it? Danielle, it was just one class. It won't happen again, I promise. Destruction is still my main interest and will continue to be."
After a brief, uncomfortable pause, she said, "I know it is. It's just that I'm…concerned."
"Concerned?" he questioned, feeling his frustration and voice start to rise. "You're concerned? You don't even talk to me anymore except to interrogate me like you're doing right now. In fact, you hardly even look at me anymore. And you're trying to tell me that you're concerned about me?"
Surprised by his emotional outburst, she opened her mouth and said sharply, "Onmund! What has gotten into you? Are you-"
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Swallowing up the rest of her words, whatever they were going to be, Danielle called out, "Who is it?"
"It's me- Drevis," the faint voice answered back. "I came to talk to you about those books."
Danielle took a deep breath, closed her eyes momentarily, and yelled back, "I'll be there in just a minute!" She then looked up at Onmund, who was looking down at the floor and shuffling his feet uncomfortably. "We'll talk about this later, Onmund," she said to him.
"There's no need," he responded calmly. "I'm going to be very busy. As I'm sure you will be, as well. Farewell, Arch-Mage." He then left her and went down the stairs, opening the door for Drevis and letting him in before he stepped out.
He walked back to his room in the Hall of Attainment and plopped himself onto his bed, shutting his eyes. His head hurt for some reason, and he tried to shut out the pain as he thought about his conduct in front of the Arch-Mage- the woman who had once been his best friend, Danielle. He knew that he had acted inappropriately with his emotional outburst, but he just couldn't help it. He had been frustrated for a long time. Every day that he was in the same room with her during class, he would look at her in her decorated robes, speaking with authority to everyone, being given special treatment by Tolfdir, and wonder, Is that the same person whom I ate and laughed with at the Frozen Hearth over a month ago? Is that the same person with whom I spent countless hours out on the field and talking about teamwork? Because now I feel like we are nothing to each other. Maybe it wasn't true that she deliberately ignored him. She had certainly never treated him badly since becoming Arch-Mage and she did say "hi" to him on occasion. But things just weren't the same anymore between them. He thought about what she had said to him out on the roof that one night, how she would "always be his friend," and wondered, Where is my friend now? She has no time for me, a mere student. I can't even have a meaningful private conversation with her without being interrupted. Deep down, he felt guilty for putting all the blame on her, though. It wasn't as if she did it on purpose. I guess I am being unfair, he realized. But what am I supposed to do? Dealing with this is harder than I thought. He decided that he would just work harder at his studies. He just needed to get his mind off of her. That's what I need to do. I'll find forgetfulness in my work, just like I had done after Roxanne rejected me. With that decided, he fell asleep and napped for a couple of hours.
Whew, this is the longest chapter yet; I hope you all enjoy it! When I think of Onmund in the last paragraph, I think of Ordinary World by Duran Duran:
Came in from a rainy Thursday on the avenue
Thought I heard you talkin' softly
I turned on the lights, the TV, and the radio
Still I can't escape the ghost of you
What has happened to it all?
Crazy some'd say
Where is the life that I recognize?
Gone away
But I won't cry for yesterday
There's an ordinary world
Somehow I have to find
And as I try to make my way
To the ordinary world
I will learn to survive
Passion or coincidence once prompted you to say
"Pride will tear us both apart"
Well, now pride's gone out the window, 'cross the rooftops, run away
Left me in the vacuum of my heart
What is happening to me?
Crazy some'd say
Where is my friend when I need you most?
Gone away
But I won't cry for yesterday
There's an ordinary world
Somehow I have to find
And as I try to make my way
To the ordinary world
I will learn to survive
Papers in the roadside tell of suffering and greed
Feared today, forgot tomorrow
Ooh, here, beside the news of holy war and holy need
Ours is just a little sorrowed talk
And I don't cry for yesterday
There's an ordinary world
Somehow I have to find
And as I try to make my way
To the ordinary world
I will learn to survive
Every world is my world (I will learn to survive)
Any world is my world (I will learn to survive)
Any world is my world (I will learn to survive)
And don't worry, I will not be so mean as to ruin Onmund with this new character! She only serves to rile him up a little and keep him on his toes! Colette will also be around for the next few chapters to make things interesting, as well.