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The connection began, pulling the man out of his physical body and depositing him in the Eternal Realm, the meeting place of the Confederacy. He looked around – the other members hadn't arrived yet, as none of the other engraved and designated points on the circle had been taken. The meeting place itself was a large disc split into five equal sections. The background showed a vast expanse of stars that flowed around the disc, giving the impression that the Eternal Realm was always moving, endlessly revolving through time and space, but he knew that the place wasn't real.
For the purpose of the meeting, he would be known as Beta – this in itself didn't signify anything (as it did not denote that he was in any way secondary as the title of the letter in the ancient language might insinuate), but the identity of each member of the Confederacy was kept secret. Beta shut his eyes and fully assumed the role, forgetting who he was outside of the Eternal Realm to ensure that the decisions that he made were not distorted by his true nationality, race, or personality – he would act like Beta always had done, like Beta always would do. He sighed wearily – being a member of the Confederacy took its toll on a person, and although for all intents and purposes he was immortal, ageless, Beta constantly felt exhausted. Making decisions concerning the fate of the world tended to do that to a person.
Beta snapped out of his introspection when Delta crashed into the Eternal Realm – the woman (well, Beta assumed that she was due to her voice and how she anatomically appeared) wore an archaic mask favoured by nobles of a long dead empire that she must have been a part of before her Ascension. The bone-white mask had the rough shape of a fox, and Delta wore a red kimono speckled with elegant black spots equal distances apart from one another. Beta knew that her attire was just as mysterious as his – the man was clothed in a plain white tunic and was masked by an unadorned piece of fabric with eye and mouth holes. Through the slits of her mask, Delta's barely visible eyes stared across at Beta, appraising him silently in lieu of giving a verbal greeting. Beta returned her gaze solemnly, eschewing words as he knew that more of the Confederacy was soon to arrive.
Alpha then gracelessly teleported in, a large and imposing figure wearing armour of burnished bronze and a horned helm of the same metal to hide his identity. Alpha was unmistakably male due to his gruff voice and lack of any discernible feminine features. He would often lead the meetings, the fact that he was designated the first in the long forgotten tongue not spoken since the collapse of a bygone civilisation giving him an air of false confidence. The Confederate acted in a manner that was typical of the stereotypical alpha male within some cultures (whether human or otherwise) of the world, perpetually attempting to assert his self-perceived dominance over the others and filled with an entirely unrequited self-assurance that often radiated out from him in the way that he spoke. Beta tolerated Alpha's insufferable behaviour, as he had done for the thousands of years since the Confederacy had been established, but that did not make it any less irksome.
Gamma and Epsilon then also entered the Eternal Realm, the first much more mutely than the last, taking up their positions in the sector of the disc that belonged to them. The former was enigmatic (well, even more so than the other members), with a bulbous glass mask covering their head and showing the other Confederates their own reflections, while the latter was a small, child-like figure with a high-pitched voice to boot, although the members didn't actually have an age (despite their physical appearances serving as a mild indication as to their biological age). Epsilon certainly didn't act like a child, and seemed to have quite a malicious tendency, enjoying meddling in the affairs of mortals more than most, though the Confederate did often have bouts of high pitched squealing when excited or disappointed with something.
They glanced over at Beta, Gamma's inscrutable mask preventing the man from seeing into the other's gaze before he turned away and was met with Epsilon's sparkling eyes that stared happily at him out of the slits in his mask. The smallest Confederate wore a disguise shaped in the form of a wolf's visage, though unlike with the others' own concealments it left Epsilon's tanned lower face and mouth bare, allowing Beta to see the other Confederate smiling widely at him with a child's adoration for kind elders. Although both Delta and Epsilon had their personal veils molded into the semblance of predators, the latter's was made out of the brown wood of oaks and represented more of a hunter than Delta's scavenger masquerade.
"And so the meeting begins. The pieces are in their assigned places, the stage is set, and now we must decide whether or not to act," Alpha intoned sternly, and Epsilon giggled at his melodrama, despite the fact that speaker's seriousness was not at all misplaced. Beta was aware that the current gathering in the Eternal Realm wasn't to discuss their plans – they had spoken of and started to enact the preparations for that in the previous one – but to ensure that each member agreed with them. The Confederacy had an archaic but logical rule that prevented their schemes from being put into action unless every Confederate added their consent; this had often prevented them from doing anything in the past few centuries, as none of the disparate personalities that made up this ancient organisation could concur on anything unless the peril of the situation was great enough to spur them into agreement.
A paradoxically embellished yet bare plinth then rose up out of the disc in front of each Confederate, a simple mana receiver fluorescing with swirls of multi coloured luminescence that would allow them to show their feelings on the course of action – a member could simply use negative energy and none of the others would be able to go forwards with the strategy. Beta watched as his fellow Confederates all placed their palms to the receiver and acceded to the proposition, each plinth flashing with a golden light tinted by numerous harmonious hues as their acceptance was registered.
Of course they did. Beta liked to think that he still possessed some humanity, still retained some emotion and empathy after all the years of bloodshed they had almost directly caused and all the manipulation of those that they were supposed to safeguard, but even though he knew that ultimately such a notion was false he was also aware of how much the others had degraded in that respect, even more than him to the point that they were no longer concerned about wanton slaughter if it was in the name of the greater good.
"Beta. Do you disagree with the plan?" Alpha demanded, direct and blunt as usual, eyes glaring at him out of the holes in the largest Confederate's helmet. Beta had his doubts – how could something like that ever help the world? How could they profess to be a force for good and yet be perfectly willing to enact what they had planned?
"I don't know. It just seems as if we are messing with something that should be left untouched – nothing has happened in the centuries the Confederacy has been established, so why should it now?" Beta asked, voicing his concerns vaguely desperately, though the timbre of his voice didn't quite come to showing emotion yet. He knew that he was pulling at metaphorical straws, and that the power of their enemies - the world's enemies - was expanding, that they would have to be dealt with soon, but he personally believed there needed to be more time for planning, more time to come up with a solution that did not involve what the others were agreeing upon now.
"The darkness grows stronger every day. I can feel it," Delta replied, her voice stained with an emotion that Beta had thought they had long ago purged: fear. She continued on more resolutely, but the fright, the barely repressed dread, remained to permeate her more determined tone. "We have to act now. This is our purpose. This is why we were created. We have to stop it, and this is the only way that we can."
"Who cares how many are sacrificed if the greater whole lives on?" Epsilon asked, its sing-song tone utterly at odds with the bleak rhetorical question it delivered. Beta glanced over at the physically youngest Confederate, who returned the gaze, their twinkling eyes filled with equal amounts of childish naivety and intent single-mindedness that filled Epsilon's posture with strength far greater than their small frame would imply, an adamant purposefulness to do anything - no matter how brutal or inhumane - to secure the future of the world, individual lives be damned. Beta looked away, uncomfortable with a child appearing in such a way, even though he knew full well that Epsilon was as old as all of them.
"It just feels...wrong." Beta admitted, realising that he still had some empathy locked up inside of him, as it was leaking out the emotionless cage in his mind now. He did not like disagreeing with his fellow Confederates, as unity was key in these dark times and they had to function as a singular force to achieve victory over he peril encroaching upon the twinned worlds as one. But too many lives were at stake for him to simply stay silent and acquiesce to a plan that he did not fully support, too many innocents would be put at risk for him not to try and at least make a stand against this barbarous strategy. That was why he continued to voice his worries, uttering, "This is further than we have ever gone before. We are supposed to quietly pull the strings, not force them under our control."
"You were always the most human among us," Gamma murmured enigmatically and dispassionately, like they were making a simple scientific observation that only made sense to them rather than a profound statement concerning the nature of one of his allies, and Beta shot the mysterious Confederate an angry glance. His furious eyes were reflected within the mirror surface of Gamma's mask, and even though he could not see the other Confederate's eyes through his opaque helm he could feel their gaze piercing into him.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" he shouted, before being interrupted by Alpha, the man evidently tiring of his defiance and, as usual, impatient for them to progress with the plan - the personal opinions of the other Confederates be damned.
"Beta! Decide now. Do you give your consent, or not?" Alpha questioned, leaning menacingly over the edge of his own iridescent podium with his large hands held within bronze gauntlets clamped around the sides of it, scintillating arcs of red reflecting his anger pulsing outwards in a vein-like pattern from his contact with the unreal material. Beta was certain that if there were not specific rules to the Eternal Realm that must be obeyed then Alpha would have been towering over him instead, possibly attempting to physically convince him as well.
"I just wish there was another way," he exhaled deeply, and resignedly placed his palm to the top of the plinth that was facing him, signalling his assent in a flash of yellow luminescence. Beta already regretted doing so without further thought or consideration of what they were doing, berating himself for being persuaded and pressured into acquiescence by Alpha's threatening and brazen demanding, but he knew deep down that Delta was correct: they did have to act swiftly and with no mercy in order to save the twinned worlds as one, but Beta was still unconvinced that anything positive could emerge from what they had planned to do.
"Then we are agreed. We begin immediately," Alpha proclaimed, and even though it was too late to voice any objections now Beta couldn't quite shake the niggling suspicion at the back of his mind that they should have waited instead of forging ahead with this strategy, that he had made the wrong decision in agreeing to it. The world would pay dearly if he had.
.*.*.*.
Kaled stepped into the Scholaria Magnus grounds, marvelling at the modern structure ahead of him – it looked foreign to him, but sometimes he could pick out features that were clearly derived from Welkalite architecture, such as the archways leading between different parts of the academy being heavily reminiscent of the opulent palaces within the Order of Wealth's Augur's Quarter that he had only ever seen from a distance (nowhere near wealthy enough to be allowed access), though much less gaudy and extravagant than the ones from his own city and with designs on it that he didn't recognise.
He knew almost nothing about other cultures apart from their names – Lucael, Yentar and Eria – but hoped that his enrollment would help teach him about them, as meeting people belonging to another nation would aid him in that respect, especially when combined with the lessons that were sure to revolve around the multifaceted civilisations of the world. The dilapidated school that he had attended in the past had possessed a low economic backing (with the only thing sustaining it the taxation of the parents and the guardians of the students, as the ruling order provided it with no funds from their own coffers) and as such had limited educational facilities for teaching the pupils about anywhere other than Welkas itself.
The academy building was tall and wide, stretching across the island with many different sections (many separated by swathes of natural land which, although the Welkalite couldn't see that, had been carefully cultivated to appear entirely natural but stopped from encroaching upon the academy's structure) that Kaled had little ideas about pertaining to their function and use. It was night-time, one of the silver moons hanging high in the sky as it illuminated the ground beneath it in its lunar glow, and the students would have time to go to their dormitories and find their rooms to sleep. Then the introductory assembly would start tomorrow morning, after breakfast, the current day sacrificed due to the different and vaguely uncertain arrival times of the students from all across the continent.
"Wonderful, isn't it?" an unfamiliar voice chirped next to him, and he spun around to look at a girl around his age who had suddenly materialised to the left of him, with medium-length, sapphire coloured hair which shimmered in the lucent glow of the moon and hazel blue eyes. She was thin, but not unhealthily so, more elegant and graceful appearing than malnourished like many Kaled had seen within Welkas, and wore a blue dress that matched her hair perfectly, which was tied up by a pale flower brooch. Who is she trying to impress? Thought Kaled, as the girl confidently stuck out her hand, amiably introducing herself. "I'm Annia Bylae, Yentarian. You?"
"Kaled Denith, Welkalite," he replied quietly, though loud enough for her to hear, and Annia could sense the bitter resentment in his tone when he mentioned his nationality. She raised her eyebrows slightly at that, although she didn't mention anything, supposing that it was none of her business why the other student would regret being part of the empire founded upon the tenets of Red mana.
"Well, Kaled, I will be seeing you around, since I am in the adjacent room to you," Annia smiled, adjusting her hair slightly. The Yentarian girl made to depart, possibly intending to go to her own room or perhaps wanting to explore first and satiate her clear curiosity for the academy building, but halted when the boy fired a question at her.
"How do you know?" Kaled asked, confused. All he had managed to work out from the data-sheet handed to him was that he shared a room with some Lucaelian kid named Caiellis Lucerna. She shook her head impatiently and pulled the sheet away from him, conjuring up logical and cold Blue mana on her fingertips and tapping the page. She handed it back – the image on it had changed, it now showed an image of Dormitory C, clearly stating that Annia and a girl called Freya were in the room next to the one Kaled and his new roommate would be residing within, as well as the locations and names of other students in the block that their room was situated in.
"How did you do that?" he asked, figuring it would be useful to be able to use the sheet properly considering no other information had been given to him when he had arrived here, and Annia tutted loudly in a very disapproving manner which the Welkalite found quite unnecessary.
"It says how to in the instructions on the back," she laughed as Kaled turned the paper round, an embarrassed look on his face, and then she poked him on the nose. The Welkalite instinctively recoiled and tensed, not used to other people making those sorts of moves around him, especially not a girl that he had never met before today and who had lived a significant distance away from him before this. Annia smiled apologetically at him and said: "See you soon."
With that, she took off, leaving Kaled vaguely stunned as to the strangeness of the encounter.
The bay was quickly becoming empty as more and more students figured out how to use the seemingly ubiquitous maps, leaving Kaled alone on the sand whilst they departed. Kaled glanced one last time at the map, ensuring that he had memorised at least the geography of the area surrounding his own room, before setting off himself. The boy paced towards the dorm, when someone shouted: "Street rat! We found you!"
Kaled spun around, his threat sense honed from years of living within the extremely dangerous neighbourhood of the derelict suburban sections of Usnaan flaring into life when he spied a group of pompous looking teenagers that he recognised from the journey there closing in on him from both sides, blocking off any potential escape routes. The four Welkalite boys were all around his age and bedecked in expensive fineries that clearly showed how rich their most likely corrupt parents were. The lead boy, an overindulged and pudgy brat going by the name of Arceus, clapped a thick (though not due to any substantial muscle but up) arm around Kaled's ever so slightly thin but athletically built shoulder as his three cronies walked next to them.
The fifteen year old automatically tensed, repressing the instinctive urge to desperately fight back against the sons of "nobles" (as if there was anything remotely noble about them) and as such not ploughing his fist into Arceus's windpipe or smashing his knee into his gut, brutal self defence tactics which had been vital for his survival upon the streets before his ma had taken him in - and after that they had helped in his gladiatorial battles against captured Unbound beasts in front of a small crowd to warm them up for the savagery of the main events. No, that would be overreacting, and while Arceus had already called him a "street rat" he had endured far worse than that in his short lifetime.
"Why don't we take a walk, Kally-boy?" Arceus suggested, glaring at a willowy Yentarian lad who strayed a bit too close for his liking and who quickly decided that going somewhere else would be more beneficial to his continued well-being as opposed to helping Kaled - a course of action seemingly taken by anyone else who might have heard Arceus's shout. Continuing on with his facade of casualness that would be considered starkly false by any who looked into the interaction further, the smaller but heavier boy stated, "Let's go some place a bit more...private."
Kaled assessed the other boys, two taller than himself but none with the lean muscle that he had built up from large amounts of exercise – he probably couldn't beat all four of them at once without using Regata, but didn't want to be the cause of trouble before the first day even started. And that wasn't accounting for the Summonings that they were bound to have, and whilst Kaled was a blisteringly fast Summoner who could conjure up his fiery elemental feline almost instantaneously doing so would turn the confrontation into something far more serious even if he was just defending himself from the bullies.
Kaled didn't know how they would handle infractions at the Scholaria, but the boy certainly did not want to ruin his chances at the school before he had even started. He would take a beating if it was the first step on his road to a new life; his ma would be disappointed in him if he lashed out and he had handled significantly more pain than anything these pretentious brats could dole out in the past despite her protection.
As soon as they had turned the corner and Arceus checked that the coast was clear of other students or staff who might intervene, he slammed the taller boy into the wall, hands soft from the years of a pampered life gripping the collar of the shirt Kaled had been given by those who had taken him here. Kaled didn't even flinch. He had endured much worse.
"I don't know how you managed to get here, street-scum," the ringleader spat, which was accompanied by contemptuous jeers from his little gang. The son of a Welkalite aristocrat prominent enough to secure their child a place at the Scholaria Magnus pressed the taller student into the wall, sneering, "But I am going to make your life hell here, understand?"
Kaled stared back impassively, trying not to let his derision and defiance of Arceus and the others that he didn't yet know the names of leak into his expression, though he had never been one for hiding his emotions and was sure that it would be burning in his eyes. This was confirmed when Arceus snarled angrily up at him, trying and failing to lean over him and seem more intimidating. He whacked Kaled in the face with the back of his knuckles, shouting, "Understand, rat?"
Kaled couldn't help but let a smile creep onto his face – Arceus hit like a wet noodle, with little to no real strength behind the blow, and when he noticed the other boy punched him again. And a third time, driving his fist into the other Welkalite's face. Despite the fact that in a vacuum the individual punches weren't doing too much damage (not with what the fifteen year old was used to from his pit fights and the life on the streets before that) when put together they were staring to quickly take their toll on the boy. His vision was blurring slightly, and his face hurt, the smirk dropping from it, but still he refused to react. Kaled could have fought back and defended himself from the attacks, but that would mean attracting the attention of the other three boys who were currently only standing next to their ringleader and turning the altercation into something far more violent.
"How does that feel, Kally-boy?" the boy smirked viciously, and blood began to leak from a cut on Kaled's cheek, a thin trail of crimson which trickled down his tanned skin and brought the taste of metallic iron to his lips. He grimaced, a response to the pain that he could no longer simply ignore, and Arceus grinned sadistically as he hit him again, and then turned to one of his "friends".
"Let's teach this scum that street rats don't belong here," Arceus near cackled, his voice cruel, the other boy laughing with him as he pulled out something from his pocket that gleamed in the faint light of the moon and twinkling stars.
"Actually, the motto of the school is "Quis Delda Los", which in ancient Yentarian means "Merit based upon talent". So actually, whether this "street rat" of yours belongs here isn't up to you," a strong voice broke into the evening, prompting all of the participants of the gang of Welkalites to frown in concern and halt in whatever they had been planning to do, the glinting metal sheathed almost instantaneously. Arceus spun around indignantly, and glared as a tall blonde-haired boy from one of the older years strolled around the corner and towards them. Kaled took the violence abating as a good sign, his vision still unfocused through the haze of the pain, and sank wearily back against the wall instead of remaining defiant and tall.
"And who the hell are you?" he demanded, and the older boy smirked, though in a way that did nothing to lessen the angry tint of his eyes and the way that his voice belied his seriousness. Arceus raised an amused eyebrow, quickly concealing how startled he had become at the start of the other male's intervention due to him not being one of the official staff who could have landed the group of Welkalites in large amounts of trouble with their authority.
"Someone who isn't afraid of the consequences for standing up for themselves, unlike the poor kid here," he replied, his blue eyes hardening and his posture switching from casual to threatening in the blink of an eye. He remained standing where he had stopped, but Kaled distinctly felt that the fact that he was more menacing made him appear larger and imposing even from that distance, "Leave him alone. Now."
The boy's grip on Kaled merely tightened, the aristocratic Welkalite teenager staring dumbfounded for a second at the threat from the older student before his pudgy face that would make some of the rough and brutal gladiators that Kaled had laid eyes upon appear heavenly in comparison creased into amusement. Arceus chortled, and the act was reciprocated by his gang, who let out worried laughs as they glanced warily at the slightly older male, their eyes betraying the trepidation that Arceus seemed not to share. The ringleader was about to jeer when a strong fist lanced into his face, knocking him away from the stunned Kaled. Blood exploded from the boy's nose and he staggered backwards, an expression of shock and pain on etched onto his features. Although Kaled could tell that the boy's nose hadn't been broken, he could also discern that the elder student hadn't held back very much, only enough to ensure that Arceus wouldn't be permanently damaged.
"I warned you. Now leave," the older boy stated calmly, and Arceus glared at him with eyes that were starting to be filled with tears and began to slink away, feeling humiliated in front of his friends. He would make sure to have his revenge for this embarrassment, that was for certain. The older boy shook his head sadly and turned to Kaled, who was still bleeding from the cuts on his face and breathing laboriously.
"You look pretty beaten up. Would you like me to take you to the infirmary?" he asked, mild worry inflecting his stern features as he helped Kaled up from where he had slumped against the wall.
"No thanks. I've endured worse. I'll just go to my dorm," Kaled replied, glad that the other teenager had intervened before he had been forced to fight back. He would prefer not to go, as he could clean himself in his room where he assumed would be sanitary facilities - and besides, he really didn't want to visit the medical professionals of the academy before the first day had even started; additionally he would rather not bring negative attention to himself and get both his persecutors and saviour in trouble. The taller boy nodded and held out his hand for Kaled to shake, who did so gratefully.
"I'm Alexander, but call me Alex. Lucaelian," he said, grinning warmly and charismatically at the younger teenager, who gave his own name and nationality back, wiping some of the blood from his face after the Lucaelian unclasped his hand.
"Thanks for that, brother," he stated solemnly, genuinely grateful for his assistance, and Alex made a curious face at him.
"Sorry Kaled, but only one person is allowed to call me that," he smiled back at the smaller boy (although that still didn't say much as Kaled was almost six feet tall), still concerned for him but willing to let the boy follow his own ideas about what to do.
If it had happened to him (and the perpetrators of the violence would have been hurt significantly more if Alexander had been the target) then he would most likely have done the same so that no unwarranted attention would be drawn to him, but if a certain someone would have been the victim of the violence (and if the person in question had then the Welkalite bullies wouldn't have been left conscious by Alex, much less still standing and mostly unruffled apart from the ringleader) then they would have been immediately taken to the medical facilities of the Scholaria Magnus regardless of any of their protests. Speaking of him...
"You have a sibling?" Kaled inquired, a vague hint of jealousy rising up in his tone before he quashed it immediately. What he would give to have a brother like him, someone who would have helped him through his dangerous life on the streets - someone who would have taught him right from wrong at an early age, and someone that he could have depended upon for emotional comfort when he had been ready to give in before his ma had taken him in. Alex nodded silently, and Kaled pressed on, hoping that his new acquaintance hadn't noticed the tinge of envy in the timbre of his earlier words: "A sister?"
Alexander snorted and laughed: "You could say that."
"A little brother then?" Kaled couldn't help but smile; the other boy's grin was infectious, and the Lucaelian nodded in confirmation again. "What's his name?"
"Caiellis," the senior student replied, and Kaled physically jolted back. He remembered that name from somewhere, but his encounter with the sons of the Empire's aristocrats had distracted him from his thoughts. He pulled out the data sheet and began tapping furiously on it, Red mana encircling the tip of his index finger and a frown of consternation creasing his face. Alex sniggered and yanked the sheet off of him, gently pressing on the map with soothing White mana and waiting until it acknowledged his request. As soon as it did, the Lucaelian howled with laughter, handing the other adolescent his means of navigation back after a brief chuckle.
"Haha. You share a room with him," he giggled, and Kaled began to walk over to dormitory C after taking his map, shooting a glance behind him to see what the Lucaelian who had helped him was doing. Alexander followed him and said: "I'll just make sure you get there safe if you aren't wanting to go to the infirmary. I have a feeling that those pompous idiots won't want to leave you alone. Besides, it won't hurt to check in on the squirt, as knowing him he will be there already."
Kaled heard a slight inkling of worry in Alex's voice that wasn't directed towards the Welkalite. He pondered it for a short moment, mulling over whether or not the boy was fearing for himself (and if he could do anything to help assuage that) after making himself a target of the gang by humiliating their leader, but quickly deciding that Alexander wasn't scared for his own sake, but for the sake of another. They walked together through an outside area that had an exotic variety of trees on display, plants that Kaled had never laid eyes upon before twisting together in an amalgamation of unusual yet earthly hues that extended high into the night sky. Dorm C was just across from there, an elegant and refined rectangular building connected to the rest of the academy through the corridors of trees that the two boys were walking through now, and Kaled asked: "What is Caiellis like then?"
"Quiet. Reserved. Cute. Smart," Alex responded, smiling as he thought of his little brother – he was pleased that his brother hadn't been placed with one of the bullies from earlier, as the youngest member of the Scholaria Magnus would be an easy target, although Alexander was confident that his younger brother could stand up for himself – in fact he was vaguely worried about what he would do to someone if he saw them picking on Caiellis, although they would definitely deserve it. It was just that Cai was small for his age of less than a month into his thirteenth year but compared to fifteen year olds (most of which had undergone their growth spurts) and older students he could easily be half a foot shorter than the smallest.
He only hoped, like he did himself, that the boy's classmates felt protective of him instead of jealous or antagonistic because of his young age and position as a prince. "He can be quite shy though, so don't think that he dislikes you if he doesn't talk. Anyway, you'll get on just fine."
Kaled absorbed the information without comment – if this Caiellis was anything like his brother then they certainly would, but the Welkalite has a large suspicion that he wouldn't be. That didn't necessarily mean that they would mesh badly with one another, much less due to the fact that Caiellis seemed to have a exemplary older brother looking out for him, but still there was the inkling in Kaled's mind that there could be friction between the two. Alex then placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Kaled, can you do me a favour?" he asked, and the boy was surprised to see sadness in Alexander's eyes. The concern had dissolved, leaving a brief glimmer of melancholy in its wake that the expressive eyes of the Lucaelian couldn't hide despite how much he probably wanted to.
"Sure!" he responded quickly, eager to make up for what Alex had already done for him - who knows what would have happened if the senior student hadn't arrived? Alex grinned and released Kaled, and explained: "Try to make sure that Caiellis actually eats. He has a tendency to ignore food when he is focussed on something, and he is thin enough already. I know that it isn't your responsibility, but since I won't be able to spend as much time with him it would be nice to know thathe had at least one other person looking out for him."
Kaled could clearly see the big brother in his new friend then, Alex's protective instinct colouring his words, and reassuringly patted the larger boy on the arm.
"Me and Caiellis will be in the same year, won't we?" he asked, assuming so because he shared a room with the Lucaelian's younger brother, and Alex nodded, adding, "Though he is younger than you. He became thirteen only a month ago, but because of our father he-... it's not important," the older boy cut off, brushing over the fact that they were royalty. Everyone in the Scholaria started equally, and he was fully aware of how Cai detested being treated with respect just because of his origin, as his younger brother thought that he hadn't done anything to deserve that despite the heroism he had displayed throughout the civil war.
"He's only thirteen?" Kaled questioned, not wanting to pry into something his friend chose to keep hidden, and sensing Alex's worry underneath his calm demeanour, decided to reassure the older boy. "Don't worry. I'll take good care of him."
"I'm not sure that he'll appreciate it," Alex mused, awareness conferred from past experiences informing him that Caiellis didn't necessarily react positively when other (male) teens that were his elders tried to protect him in a similar way to Alexander himself, "But thanks from me."
The Welkalite nodded. Kaled adopted a more contemplative expression while they walked, wondering what special property had allowed Alex's younger sibling to enter the school at an age two years junior to himself. He knew that it would be easier to feel protective of him because of the fact that he was still within his first teenage year, but conversely that meant that he would be an easier target for others.
Kaled followed the Lucaelian into the dormitory and almost bumped into him when he stopped in front of the fourth door on the right.
"There's your room," he instructed, and Kaled once again thanked him for earlier, and pushed the wooden door open. The room was medium sized, with two single beds at equidistant points from the centre of the room set at opposite sides of it and pushed against the back corners. There was a small bathroom with a shower and toilet on the right, the door being slightly ajar insinuating that it hadn't been properly utilised yet, and large windows opposite from the entry door that were currently covered by black curtains - befitting the fact that it was late evening.
Each bed had a small wooden desk next to it, one of which had a pile of venerable-looking leather bound books neatly placed on top. The bed next to that desk on the left of the room (Kaled's right whilst facing inwards) was already occupied, the boy who must have been Caiellis snapping the tome he had been reading shut and instantly glancing up at the door. The Lucaelian gazed at him intently, as if analysing Kaled, and then Caiellis narrowed his eyes as he spied the tell-tale flash of blonde hair behind his new roommate.
"Alex? What are you doing here? You said that you would leave me alone when we got here?" Caiellis snapped, and Kaled instantly concluded that he didn't like the younger boy. He had almost immediately disregarded the presence of the Welkalite when he had noticed his older brother, and instead of being grateful for Alexander's presence the thirteen year old was questioning it like it was something to be irritated at.
"Your brother was just taking me here. It was a coincidence that I happened to share a room with you," Kaled shot back, feeling like Caiellis was unnecessarily antagonising his big brother for something out of his control. The boy raised his eyebrows, his green eyes flashing back to the fifteen year old – Alex had been right, he was quite cute, still in the preliminary phases of his adolescent years whereby his face remained young and boyish, although the dark mark on his right cheek looked rather ominous, and Alexander laughed in the background.
"See you around, baby brother!" he snickered and walked off, and Kaled went into the room and pushed the door shut behind him. Caiellis continued to glower at the wooden door, as if through force of will he could burn it open and incinerate his older brother. Actually, Kaled thought, he didn't know what his roommate's powers were, though he must have been quite exceptional to be permitted into the academy at thirteen, so didn't put the act past him.
Caiellis sighed, though made sure to do so quietly enough so that it wouldn't be heard by his new roommate. He had overreacted by speaking in that matter to his older brother, especially since it was characteristic of the seventeen year old to want to help others if they were in need of it, even if he might act nonchalant about dispensing his aid. Consequently, it was a logical step for the elder prince to spend a few seconds checking in on his little sibling. Cai was grateful for Alexander's protective nature even if it was occasionally irritating, but he still hadn't become accustomed to it being the norm once again after their independence from one another proceeding the civil war's ending and their return to the palace that they had both been born in.
Nonetheless, that didn't excuse his snapping, and while the youngest Lucerna was well aware that his tone was a product of a new and unfamiliar environment as well as the constant stress that mounted every second he didn't pass his Summoning trial and continued to be a disappointment to both his family and the kingdom at large, he shouldn't have taken it out on an older brother who was only trying to help and ensure his safety. And now he had gone and made his new roommate dislike him at first sight as well, which made having to interact with a stranger even harder and more anxiety inducing.
Kaled slung his small bag of possessions onto his side of the room, which earned a scowl from Caiellis, as his section was carefully organised. Kaled suddenly noticed the presence of an ornate and sheathed sword resting upright on the wall – surely the weapon should have been confiscated? The fifteen year old wasn't entirely sure about the exact rules and regulations of the academy (with no one who actually knew having deigned to explain them to him), and supposed that he didn't know much concerning the other cultures of the world either, but still, it was a sword - and swords could easily be deadly.
He quickly made his way into the personal bathroom assigned to them, flicking his eyes towards the brooding teenager that he would be sharing his living space with for the duration of the academy's first term before entering the pristine sanitary facilities. Not only did he wish to use the toilet, but accessing the bathroom would allow him to deal with the far more pressing issue of the coppery blood that had coagulated onto his face and was still bleeding in some regions.
When he re-entered after a few minutes Kaled glanced over at the younger occupant of the pleasant room, perturbed at both the weapon and the boy's actions towards his older brother, but Caiellis averted his eyes and stared at some obscure section of the wall instead of meeting the Welkalite's gaze, nervously twisting his hands on the fabric of his trousers before consciously stopping himself, wishing that he was anywhere else but here. The fifteen year old boy jumped onto his bed, tired out from the long journey, when Caiellis's quiet and timid voice piped up.
"H-hey," Cai gulped, trying to control his breathing as he attracted the attention of the other teenager. He laid out his hands on the bed so that the shaking of the slender fingers wouldn't be visible, and forced himself to look at the Welkalite instead of the much more appealing option of the floor, hoping that his normally pale cheeks weren't blushing as incineratingly obviously as they felt. Kaled glanced at the teenager who was most probably the youngest member of the Scholaria Magnus as the thirteen year old shifted over the side of his bed, slender legs dangling over the edge and not even reaching the floor.
"I don't think we started out very well. I'm Caiellis Noctis Lucerna. Lucaelian," the boy smiled shyly and held out his small hand for his roommate, who took it and shook it, Kaled's tanned fist easily able to close fully around the younger boy's hand. The older male repressed a smile at the boy's attempts at reconciliation, thinking that perhaps he had jumped to conclusions earlier. Caiellis was thin, more so than most teenagers who were slim themselves, and Kaled could fully empathise with Alexander on wanting his little brother to eat more.
"Quite the mouthful," Kaled replied nonchalantly and stifled a laugh at the boy's unamused scowl. Actually, Caiellis was more than a little pleased – his roommate clearly had never heard of the Lucaelian royalty before, so that meant that would actually be treated as a person rather than a title. That was preferred, and while the adolescent was well aware that the other students hailing from the Kingdom of Light would most probably treat him with reverence, respect and ill-concealed fear because of the Black Sun imprinted on his right cheek unless they knew him personally (through Alexander as Cai barely ever made friends of his own) he would like to have a place in which he wasn't.
"Call me Cai. And even though I already know your name, it would be appreciated if you participated in this little introductory activity we have going on here," he couldn't quite keep the customary teenage snark that had leapt upon him a few months before his birthday in the closing sections of the previous year (as well as the ending of the war) out of his voice as he replied. Instead of reacting negatively, Kaled snorted loudly at the words, vaguely reminding Cai of something his older brother would do before wrapping his younger sibling in a head lock and roughly ruffling his mop of brown hair.
"Hi, I'm Kaled Denith, Welkalite, nice to meet you too," he sniggered, squeezing the boy's hand hard which elicited a half-smothered hiss of pain from his roommate. Cai pulled away, spontaneously deciding that he had tried hard enough to make a friend, and there was nothing more he could do. If Kaled was going to be one of that subset of people who thought that play fighting and rough housing was beneficial within their relationships (he only tolerated that from his older brother because of how much Alex had done for him, and because he couldn't really do anything other than take it) then there was no advantageous reason towards befriending him. Caiellis already had a big brother in his life, he didn't need anyone else who wished to act similar but without the implied brotherly love within all of Alexander's actions.
Further conversation was deemed useless, so he turned around in the bed and began to read his book again – Caiellis realised that he would probably need his shell soon, so started its mental reconstruction. He didn't want to get emotionally attached to anyone or anything here, particularly due to the reality that it would only ever be temporary, and his main priority was to obtain usage of his ominous Summoning despite his nation's fear of it.
The youngster could feel the pressure, the stress, building up within him again now that the novelty of leaving the Kingdom of Light and bonding with his big brother again had dissolved, and was certain that he would have to employ his emotional barriers and fortifications again in order to prevent others from noticing and endeavouring to help. However, he would try not to use them against Alex any more; the older prince didn't deserve that kind of treatment after all he had done for Caiellis and if he was being honest he had hated hiding himself from away the seventeen year old - otherwise he never would have been able to continue with his relentless attempts of the Angel of the Black Sun's trial and the cutting that came after every failure.
Kaled sat silently in his bed for a while, thinking that he had hurt the younger boy with his actions. He had tried not to cause him pain, but Cai was definitely fragile, so Kaled could have easily done so by crushing his hand, something only meant as a boisterous gesture that, as usual, he hadn't considered the ramifications of before hand.
He felt guilty, like he had failed Alexander already – Kaled had promised to take care of the younger boy in return for the aid that the selfless elder Lucaelian had provided, and his new friend would be displeased with him if Caiellis was hurt. Kaled was under no illusions – even though Alex had helped him out earlier, his little brother was surely miles higher on his list of priorities than some new acquaintance, almost certainly at the top. He resolved to say something to check if his roommate was fine, it was far too early to be going to sleep now anyway. Besides, the silence that had descended was thick between them, and even though Kaled was often solemnly quiet and as such didn't mind not talking he didn't like the fact that it felt nothing close to companionable, more tense and awkward.
"Cai? Are you alright?" he asked, but with all the response he received he may as well have been attempting to communicate with a wall - and would probably have had more success in that endeavour. The boy didn't even acknowledge his roommate, nor react to the words, but Kaled could still hear the flicking of pages as he glanced at the thirteen year old's small back. He reached over and shook the bony shoulder of the smaller adolescent, who made him jump by suddenly whipping around and glaring at him.
"What do you want?" Caiellis demanded, and Kaled was shocked at the sudden vehemence in his tone. The prince had been trying to read, but every second his thoughts went to the Angel of the Black Sun residing in his body, dragging his mind away from the book in front of his eyes - one that he had started reading not only because he was curious but because he hoped it would distract him from the feeling of failure that had been his perpetual compatriot ever since his father had spoken to him after the war.
He hadn't been able to attempt the Summoning for a couple of days, as it was too risky whilst travelling, and once again began to feel the crushing weight of expectation hanging over his shoulders, even though he was hundreds of miles away from what could well become his kingdom. He didn't really know how to cope with the feeling now that his only release had been forbidden by his older family members, and was pondering the fact that despite his father's kinder tone and gift, he still expected Caiellis to pass the test soon, although at least now he possibly better understood why it was difficult for the youngest Lucerna, when he had felt a hand on his shoulder.
Forgetting where he was for a brief moment, Caiellis thought it would be Alexander, his big brother checking on his well being due to his lapse into saddened introspection, but was sorely disappointed to see Kaled there, and was reminded once again about how the king needed his failure of a child out of his sight to concentrate on the kingdom – Cai didn't believe for a second that Marik's intention had been to "improve as a father" before they returned. He hadn't meant to spit the words out with such acidity, but thankfully Kaled didn't seem that offended.
Angels above; what is wrong with me? I'm being consumed by this ... but I need to complete it. I can't comprehend why dad would want to send me away from the kingdom apart from him wanting the pathetic disgrace of his youngest son out of his sight ... but even then he didn't see me at all over the month between the war ending and two days ago, the latter in itself only facilitated by Alex forcing him to and revealing my self-harming, so I was hardly in the way. I mean, I understand that this is in theory a good opportunity, and I'm extremely thankful that dad (or whoever organised this, as my father might not have known) had the foresight to keep me and Alex together instead of nations apart because I don't think that I would have been able to cope with only seeing him every time he could come home.
But with the amount of effort that he must have gone through in wielding his royal influence to convince the administrators to make an exception and send me, a thirteen year old, here, smacks of dad wanting me gone as quickly as possible. I don't understand what he wanted to achieve through this; I haven't even been able to attempt my Summoning trial in the past couple of days and I'm not certain that this opportunity is really more important than remaining in Lucael and being able to utilise the veritable repository of resources in Capitalia Lux.
It's only ... I don't want to be here. I don't want to have to meet new people, or be at a disadvantage due to my age or lack of a Summoning, and while interacting with the prodigies of other nations is important for a Lucerna prince nothing is as vital as accessing my First Sisterhood angel, my birthright and way of protecting the people. Caiellis had to manually force himself out of his introspection when he registered that the older student was still talking to him. He hadn't slept well on the journey at all in spite of his older brother being near him as he could never feel truly safe on the monorails through the darkness, and the exhaustion of his month of constantly attempting to Summon and barely eating was catching up with him and making him lethargic - which was why he was lapsing so easily into thought.
"I just wanted to check on you, chill out. Your brother would probably kill me if I hurt you," Kaled mumbled, and Caiellis couldn't help but laugh even if his young voice was tinged with melancholy that he desperately wished not to show, not to anyone. He had already been too weak these past few days, too dependent on his older brother and too needy to the point where his father couldn't even stand to have him around any more - not with Alex reacting in the way that he did.
"What, you thought you hurt me with that rough handshake?" he chuckled incredulously despite the fact that it had been kind of painful, although there was still a potent mixture of sadness and angsty anger in his tone that he wasn't able to hide, "Trust me, when you have an obsessive older brother that is twice your size and strength, you tend to rack up on the bruises."
"You shouldn't slag off Alex so much, he is only trying to look out for you," Kaled chided, and in spite of the fact that there was only a minute hint of envy in his voice, Caiellis detected it instantaneously and that immediately made him feel very uncomfortable.
He wasn't entirely sure of how to reply to that so decided to stay silent instead - he knew how lucky he was to have an elder sibling like Alexander even if his older brother was often a pain in the ass and occasionally (though nowhere near rarely) his worst enemy -, and after Kaled began to feel awkward after a few seconds he tried to make some conversation, not wanting to stay alone with his thoughts and confront the grief that gnawed away at the centre of his being. Yes, he needed to talk, thrived upon the communication even if it was with a quiet yet sardonic younger teenager, because otherwise he would succumb to the anguish festering at the heart of him.
"It's a great opportunity, isn't it? The Scholaria I mean," he verbally contemplated for a moment, his mind drawn to his ma's sacrifice, the thing that had secured his placement here. He was determined not to waste this chance she had given him, and was thinking about that (just not too deeply into it) when the smaller boy replied quietly with: "You could call it that."
"What do you mean?" Kaled asked, sitting up in his bed and directing his gaze at the Lucaelian. Caiellis reciprocated the gesture, also bringing his knees up to his chest and huddling them with his thin arms, his brown fringe obscuring his eyes, making the Welkalite remember belatedly that the boy was two years younger than him – even so, Caiellis still looked small and delicate as he asked, "What would you say it is then?" The boy glanced up at him, partially revealing his green orbs as he did so, emotions unreadable to Kaled swirling around in their emerald depths.
"A punishment? A waste of time? Just two suggestions," he answered bitterly, and Kaled was confused as to how anyone could view it in that way. He could feel his choler rising, the thoughts of his adopted mother souring and becoming laced with streaks of darkness and fury at the scornful dismissal his roommate had showed this privilege, this chance for a new life away from the squalor and poverty of his home city.
"How can you say that? Aren't you grateful for being here?" Kaled snapped, accidentally letting anger enter his tone, but the younger boy automatically picked up on it and made his voice louder too in response – it was a tactic he had developed when he was younger, often raising his voice so that a raging older brother would listen to him despite the fact that it was easy enough for Alexander to shout him down.
"No, not in the slightest! And why should I be? Caiellis shouted back, subconsciously baiting the older boy to react. He was sick of this place, sick of his roommate's antagonsing tone, and sick of his mind being pervaded with the knowledge that the longer he spent here, failing with his Summoning trial, the longer it would take for him to return home to the Lucerna palace in Capitalia Lux and be brought back into the perfect - well, as perfect as it could be without his late mother that he barely remembered - family that he had dreamed of throughout the peril of the civil war. Even though only a relatively small part of him was naive enough to believe that it could still happen after his father's change, that want, that desire that had been the only thing fueling him apart from Alex's love through all of the turmoil of Johnias's treachery, still burned brightly within him, and he knew that while he was at the Scholaria Magnus that near desperate need could never be realised.
Kaled acted without thinking, as he was wont to, grabbing the near-weightless boy by the front of his collar and slamming him the wall connected to the door, lifting the thirteen year old off his feet in one swift motion so that their eyes met at the same plane of height. His ma had died to get him here! How could any person spurn this opportunity? His fists twisted upwards in the fabric of the boy's shirt, not caring that he was pressing in hard as he snarled and glowered at the Lucaelian he was to share a room with for the foreseeable future.
Cai gulped and looked back into Kaled's wrathful face, stilling his legs before he automatically sent a barrage of what would be undoubtedly feeble kicks into the Welkalite's chest.
He could have instead kicked himself for letting his feelings of stress and sadness get in the way of rational judgement – this Kaled was quite clearly different to the other Welkalites, judging by the obvious wealth flaunted by the students sent here (the irony that he, as a Lucerna prince, was most likely richer than some of them even though he did not look like it not lost on him, in spite of the fact that his personal finical status amounted to mostly nothing), so something significant must have happened to allow him to be enrolled, something that Kaled evidently cared about very deeply. Something that he should not have scorned so freely without paying any heed to the possible consequences.
The thirteen year old knew he shouldn't have given in to the argument or showed any emotion in his words. He just hoped that he wouldn't have to fight back, that Kaled would have enough restraint to avoid causing him pain, because he was aware that the boy two years his senior was substantially stronger than he was and that there was little way of him breaking out (as Kaled seemed to have been trained in at least the rudiments of fighting technique due to his stance that didn't allow any easy openings to arise) without using his magic.
Caiellis's small hands had already reached up, thin fingers that were long in comparison to the size of the palms but still little clasping around Kaled's tensed wrists, though embarrassingly enough they didn't even fully encircle them. He tried pulling them off, but the effort was fruitless and the fists digging into his jutting collar bones and the base of his neck barely budged at all.
He would have said something, apologised and asked Kaled to release him so that proper reconciliations could be made, but he didn't want to risk incensing the senior boy even further and putting himself in even more danger. Besides, Cai knew that his voice wouldn't come out as anything other than a pitiful squeak, and was scared (no, no. Not scared. Lucernas aren't supposed to feel fear. I'm just ... slightly concerned for my own health) of what Kaled could do, as though he wasn't quite as strong as Alexander he was still far more physically powerful than the slender and exhausted thirteen year old.
The prince didn't want to have to resort to his magic, as he hated using it on other humans (regardless of the fact that some definitely deserved it) and refused to utilise it when not in actual danger with enemies that wished him dead (or when practising), and especially on those who would be unsuspecting such as the Welkalite hoisting him off of his feet. And he wasn't about to utilise it now even if it would remove the source of the pain - additionally, his White mana (as Caiellis had never willingly employed the more sinister variety of magic that he knew was inside of him) usually required some prior channeling and that would be sensed by Kaled - who knew how he would react if he sensed that? He would rather take a beating than hurt another person with his magic.
Instead, Cai made his eyes all the more imploring, though could not completely erase the defiant tint to them which contributed to provoking his roommate into this course of action, and hoped that Kaled would have enough sense to release him soon. He was fully certain that the region around his collar bones had a high probability of bruising, which meant he was lucky that the clothes he had taken concealed that area. The youngest Lucerna was afraid for himself, but more prevalent in his mind was the concern of what Alexander - or indeed, any other Lucaelian teenager who took their duty to guard the scions of the royal family seriously, though to a significantly lesser extent than his protective older brother - might do if he found out.
All Kaled wanted to do was punch this arrogant child in the face, but his words from earlier resonated in his mind – the least he could do for Alex was not hurt his younger brother, in fact he had said the he would protect Cai. He was doing a great job of that now, but he had just insulted something that his ma had given her life for, and the younger boy squirmed somewhat fearfully as Kaled unconsciously tightened his grip, pressing into Caiellis's throat and restricting his breathing. The Lucaelian youngster began to feel slightly light headed as inhaling became difficult, moments away from starting to verbally plead with the stronger male.
"I'm coming in!" a female voice suddenly announced, smashing apart the tense silence, and Annia burst into the room without even knocking, an excited smile on her face that was soon replaced by a look of surprise and horror when her eyes ghosted over the two boys with one pinning the other to the wall by his shirt collar.
"Kaled! What are you doing? Don't you know who he is?" she cried, shoving him hard as another, smaller but slightly stouter girl stood awkwardly in the doorway. The instant his balance was altered and he was almost sent sprawling, only his arena instincts allowing him to remain upright after the surprisingly hard push, Kaled snapped out of seeing red and instantly released Caiellis, the Lucaelian slumping to the floor as he sucked a breath of unadulterated air into his lungs. The Welkalite stepped away and turned around, sitting on his bed, guilt pulsing its way into his mind when he realised just what he had done. He was angry at Cai's words, but he was more annoyed at himself – he had overreacted hugely, and taken advantage of the fact that his roommate was younger, smaller and clearly frailer than himself.
The boy ignored the Yentarian's words, forcing himself to slowly breathe in and out, a relaxing inhalation filling his lungs and followed by a languid expiration that helped to soothe his frayed nerves. The images of the attack on his ma's home - his home - faded from where they had maddeningly danced at the edges of his vision and fueled the sudden violence. He needed to calm down, reminding himself that Caiellis wouldn't have known, that his situation was different from Kaled's and that perhaps the younger adolescent had been forced to come here.
The Welkalite was only grateful that he had possessed enough self-restraint not to punch the junior male and do serious damage, but still felt extremely contrite for hurting and quite possibly scaring his roommate - he wouldn't be surprised if Cai requested that the administrators of the Scholaria Magnus relocated him to another room (or even a different dormitory) or told his older brother about the incident. Kaled had no doubts in his mind that he would have incurred the wrath of Alex now, and was sure that he deserved any punishment that he would receive when Caiellis inevitably informed his brother, one of his friends or staff.
He wanted to apologise for his outburst and the release of his anger at the circumstances which had taken place to allow him to come here and begin a new life, make reparations for what he had done so that maybe the Lucaelian wouldn't be as uncomfortable in his presence. But he refused to look over at Caiellis until he had calmed himself completely, almost wanting to go into the bathroom so that any urge to lash out was greatly diminished but not wanting to push past the thirteen year old and scare him further.
As Caiellis got to his feet, brushing himself down and smoothing the creases that had formed in his outfit, the Yentarian fell to her knees in a strangely familiar gesture altered by the differing culture of the girl kneeling in a form of offered supplication he had seen only once prior to this before him.
"My lord, my name is Annia Bylae, Yentarian, and I share the room next to yours – I hope that we will be able to talk a lot in the future," she chattered, her voice swaying between both respectful and casual, and then immediately blushed profusely. She hadn't meant to say that last part. The fact that Caiellis was the son of a king - an almost unheard of concept within Yentar as the most important children were the scions of the leaders of the Leagues of Thought or the council representatives, but even then those who displayed intelligence and intuition were valued higher within the meritocracy - was fascinating to her, as she couldn't quite imagine being born into such power, importance and responsibility.
Luckily, the boy didn't seem to hear the final section, or that was until he started laughing quietly, his green eyes filled with a mixture of pain that was being pushed down and forced mirth that he tried to hide it with. He was shaking slightly, hands trembling in the wake of the adrenaline rush that had half flooded through him, but resolved to try and stay appearing as strong and resolute as possible - he had suffered worse, even from other humans that weren't trying to kill him - as to not disgrace his line in front of a scion of the Yentarian Republic, Lucael's ally.
"You are just like your sister," he smirked, trying to control his nervousness, and then coughed painfully, rubbing the front of his bruised neck, as the girl asked with a smile, getting to her feet and glancing down at the boy: "Oh, you met Jenna? She was at Capitalia Lux, wasn't she?"
"Indeed. She mentioned you," Caiellis said in a strained voice, not wanting to speak any more words than was necessary, and turned to look at the doorway. The girl who had stood there was now gone – she looked like an Erian, and was probably quite nervous about talking to other people judging from the way that she had acted. The prince could empathise with that, wishing that he could retreat to solitude and privacy instead of being inundated with new faces to talk to and subsequently ruin his social chances with, as Annia looked down at him sympathetically. "Are you ok, my lord?"
"What is with this "my lord" business?" Kaled asked, turning back around once he had composed himself and made sure he wouldn't lash out anymore. He didn't miss how the younger male's gaze instantly met his, a form of defiance warring with shyness - and guilt? - before being overpowered by it, green eyes lowered back to the floor before they flicked up at Annia's voice.
"You really don't know? Are you stupid?" the girl raised her eyebrows dubiously, scorn present in her words, and the Welkalite squinted at Cai, thinking hard for a second – nope, he didn't recognise the boy or his name from anything. But then again he did know absolutely nothing of Lucaelian culture apart from the fact that all those he had seen were shaded in varying degrees of pale.
"Quite possibly. Could either of you please explain what is going on?" he glanced between the two, Cai sheepishly looking up at him again before he made his expression more collected, or at least tried to.
"Caiellis Noctis Lucerna," Annia emphasised the last part of his name, explaining whilst the named looked on abashedly: "The monarchy of Lucael – Caiellis is the son of the king."
"Ok," Kaled replied simply – did she expect him to be impressed? If so the Yentarian would be severely disappointed. The almost natural Welkalite disdain - bordering on hatred - for nearly any form of established sovereignty extended to Kaled Denith, and although he didn't exactly resent the thirteen year old (it wasn't as if he had chosen to be born into that family) his "royal blood" wasn't exactly going to bring him any favours with his roommate. Caiellis would have to do something to actually be afforded respect if he wanted it. Despite that, it did make sense to Kaled that Alexander was a prince, the heir to the throne if the Lucaelian royalty system was anything similar to the monarchs of the Old Empire.
Cai laughed grimly, and, before Annia could reply to the Welkalite, said: "I like your style Kaled. I really don't deserve all (well, any, in fact) of the admiration I receive." He then coughed violently, massaging his throat, and Kaled moved towards him, concerned. He hadn't quite realised that he had placed the younger boy in that much pain, nor put enough pressure into his grip to cause the painful sounding coughs.
"Anyway, I'm going to bed now," declared Annia, pushing open the door once more and enthusiastically continuing, "I just thought it would be nice to see the people in the room next door, though I didn't quite expect that you would be trying to kill one another. See you tomorrow!"
After she shut the door and left, the fifteen year old's smirk at her antics faded and he stepped next to Caiellis, who forced himself not to stiffen at the nearness of the Welkalite after what had just happened. Kaled awkwardly placed a relatively large hand on the boy's slender arm, not missing the half repressed flinch back, and guiltily asked: "Did I hurt you? Sorry if I did."
"It's fine, Alex," Caiellis snickered at his roommate's puzzled expression, and elaborated. "I already have one older brother. I don't need you look after me too. And yes, for a moment you did choke me, though really all you did was lift me off my feet. Trust me, I've had much worse than that done to me. So we'll put it behind us, unless you would prefer that Alexander became aware?"
The question was rhetorical, but Kaled considered it anyway - he wasn't sure whether or not he had failed the older student who had helped him avoid a savage beating earlier with his characteristically rash and emotion-fueled actions. Perhaps Alexander should have become aware, and although Kaled was relatively ashamed of himself he supposed that it was Cai's choice whether or not he informed his big brother - that the younger boy's pride was at stake and that Caiellis didn't want his sibling to follow him around and protect him from everything.
Caiellis brushed past him gracefully and slipped into the bathroom, pulling out a toothbrush from one of his luggage bags and carrying another one in. Kaled hadn't thought to bring or ask for something so simple as a toothbrush, and had a few changes of clothes, but no nightwear. He pondered the boy's words for a few seconds, he felt that it was instinctive to want to protect the younger male, but he reasoned that Caiellis would have been guarded his entire life, not just by his overprotective big brother but by his father's guards as well. Maybe the kid just wanted a friend that he could talk to without them constantly trying to keep him out of harm's way, or maybe Cai didn't actually want to be friendly with the older boy - just in speaking conditions so that staying in a room shared between them wasn't uncomfortable.
The Lucerna sighed wearily when the door was shut and locked, examining his throat in the mirror and satisfied that no bruises (things that couldn't be rejuvenated with mana due to them not being serious enough) had appeared that would be cause for suspicion, then pulled off his shirt and ran soothing White mana down the cuts all across his thin torso. He wasn't able to heal the wounds outright – one of the most fundamental tenets of healing was that one could not repair wounds that they had caused themselves - although he done this everyday since starting, the magic preventing the cuts from infecting or deteriorating in any other way. It was the stinging sensation of sudden pain that he had needed to distract him from overwhelming despair, he didn't want to cause lasting damage or degrade his own health further.
After doing that, he undressed fully and put his pyjamas on, and then started to brush his teeth, gazing into his own eyes and the dark skin underneath from the lack of sleep and his currently unhealthy lifestyle. If Caiellis was fully honest with himself, he felt nothing towards his roommate, he just wanted them to be on good terms so that Kaled wouldn't distract him from the school - well, not the school, his Summoning trial. Cai assumed that there would be facilities for students who had not Summoned yet, and would relentlessly attempt the test until he passed it. It would be interesting to see what else would occur and what knowledge he could learn, but that was a minor objective in the prince's opinion. Passing the Summoning was Caiellis's first priority.
He held back the tears when he thought about how far he was from the place of his birth - apart from his fondness for a few places, it wasn't his darkened nation that he missed, just the feeling that the dream which he had lived for through the civil war was almost completely out of reach. Before he broke down in to sobbing that would be unbefitting of a possible heir to the Lucerna throne, he composed himself, glaring sternly into his own eyes until all unwanted moisture disappeared and a few barriers were erected - he didn't have to be utterly emotionless, just not give away any of the pathetic sadness and homesickness that was eating away at him from the inside.
Once a few minutes had passed, he re-emerged into the main room, and Kaled who was relaxing on his comfortable bed couldn't help but smile at how adorable the young prince looked in his somewhat fluffy nightwear.
"Aww, have you got a teddy bear as well?" he joked, and Caiellis went and sat on the bed next to him.
"Actually, I was hoping that you could fill in that role," the younger boy admitted, shuffling closer to Kaled and looking up at him with pleading puppy-dog eyes that had barely ever failed to get him what he wanted from his brother or Uncles. Kaled's own brown orbs widened almost comically, surprise curling his expression as his mouth dropped open.
"I-I didn't know you felt that way," Kaled stammered, going bright red and turning away. He certainly hadn't considered that. Cai burst into laughter and Kaled indignantly shoved him away, knocking him off the bed and onto the floor.
"Don't do that!" he chastised, feeling embarrassed and quite stupid at being so easily tricked by the younger boy (though those eyes that he had employed were certainly very convincing and had seemed genuine) although he hadn't expected the so far serious and somewhat angst-ridden Lucaelian to make jokes or have much of a sense of humour.
Caiellis hung his head in mock shame, and got back onto his own bed, pulling the soft covers over him and apologising, "I'm sorry. It was a pitiful excuse for a joke."
"Well it caught me off guard." Kaled replied in a combination of a laugh and an annoyed grumble, and then noticing the other boy snuggled underneath the quilt of his bed, asked: "What time is it anyway?"
"10:13," Cai replied smoothly, looking at his elegant watch that was on the desk next to him. He tiredly rubbed his eyes as he turned back to the Welkalite, glad that their earlier interactions hadn't set the precedent for the rest of their communication.
"That's way too early to be going to sleep. Although, I suppose that babies have to go to bed earlier than the rest of us," Kaled teased, and Caiellis sat up and snapped back: "Watch your tongue before I cut it off. Besides, I have a feeling it will be a long day tomorrow, especially since the whole-academy assembly is at eight, and breakfast will have to be eaten before that. I want to get as much sleep as possible so that I am well rested - I'd advise that you would do the same but, um, ultimately it is your choice." The boy's voice started off playfully angry, before becoming informative and quickly dissolving into a sort of anxious mumble that had him rapidly ending the sentence, his shyness getting the better of him.
"Whatever," Kaled grumbled, seeming not to have noticed, pulling off his t-shirt and dumping it next to his bed, revealing a somewhat wiry but otherwise muscular and tanned upper body that the Lucaelian couldn't help but noticed was blemished by black bruising before averting his eyes. Caiellis turned away, muttering: "Can't you get undressed in the bathroom like a normal person?"
"I'm not a normal person, and why? Does it make you uncomfortable? Are you jealous?" the older male chuckled, flexing in a way that was completely missed by the thirteen year old before sliding into his own bed, removing his trousers once underneath and tossing them aside to land in a crumpled pile beside his t- shirt.
"None of us at the Scholaria Magnus are normal. And no, I have to live with Alex, so I've seen worse," Cai countered, speaking from experience at his older brother's penchant to having no self-restraint about slinging off his chest garments whenever they had been staying at whatever "home" had constituted as despite Caiellis's protests.
"You two seem very close," Kaled turned in his bed, glancing over at the younger male who was gazing intently at the ceiling. The mana-powered illumination of the room was still active, as Kaled didn't feel much like going to sleep right at this moment and didn't mind talking to his first possible friend at the academy.
"And why shouldn't we be?" the Lucaelian demanded somewhat sharply, shifting his head on the pillow so that he could level emerald eyes at his roommate. He hadn't missed at all that Kaled, who he barely knew anything about, seemed quite interested in him and his older brother, but perhaps he was overthinking it and all the Welkalite was trying to do was stimulate conversation.
"I don't know," Kaled mumbled abashedly, "I guess I just thought you wouldn't have forged a "brotherly bond" being royalty and all."
"We've only lived in relative luxury for a month, because of the-" Caiellis silenced himself immediately, cursing in his mind. News of the civil war in Lucael had been carefully restricted, and here he was going to share it with a complete stranger. Any possibility that the outside world and the other nations would hear of the weakness that had afflicted the Kingdom of Light had been swiftly curtailed so that none could take advantage of the inner turmoil of Lucael that had left it essentially defenseless against any full scale attack from another civilisation, and while the kingdom had recovered in leaps and bounds from the civil war instigated by Cai's traitorous uncle it was still weaker than the shining dominant power it had been around the time of Caiellis's birth and early life. Kaled didn't need to know, and it was a testament to how little he had spent interacting with those from other nations as to how he was failing to be controlled in the discussion about the internecine conflict that had ravaged the Kingdom of Light.
"Because of what?" the senior roommate inquired curiously, wondering if perhaps there was more to the life of this young prince than he had initially envisioned - as, disregarding the boy's earlier angst that could be attributed to only just breaching his adolescence, Cai hadn't acted particularly spoiled or haughty (especially not when compared to the Welkalite aristocracy) and neither had Alexander. Kaled didn't know enough about Lucael or the culture of his two friends to state his thoughts with any evidence supporting them, but thought that perhaps the responsibility of ruling was taken very seriously within Lucael.
"Nothing. I'll tell you some other time. Good night." Cai got up out of his bed and switched the lights off, leaving the boys in darkness, alone with their thoughts.