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Sooooooooo, look who finally updated! Sorry, I was writing a failure of a dark fantasy horror (Adamina's Circle, read and weep) and decided to rewrite this entire 12k chapter. because fillers are fruitless follies that I MUST DESTROY. I'll try to update more regularly now <3

    —————   

          Káel had a pleasant dream. He was back on Earth, eating pancakes, walking to school, and for some inexplicable reason, enthusiastically prancing through the field in front of his house.

          Then Ray came along and it became a nightmare.

          Just before Ray kicked him into a swimming pool full of sharks, Káel sprang awake, disturbing Puff, who in response to the sudden movement dug his claws into Káel's stomach and bristled his fur. He slowly leaned back down, a fissure of searing pain cracking through his skull in tune to his beating heart, and the newfound pricks Puff had provided him with dotting his stomach.

          "Oh you're awake are you?" a familiar voice said. "Don't worry, you're fine, but I wouldn't recommend getting up for a bit."

          He squinted until his eyes adjusted to the light spattering the room, then looked to whoever was talking to him. Mariel smiled as her shadow gave his eyes some relief, casually filling a small glass with water.

          "If you're wondering where you are, this is the nursing quarters, you fainted from a lumience overdose... Can't blame you, I doubt Ray told you anything important when he kidnapped you." Her tone dipped to a grouchy growl at the mention of Ray. "Just as a pointer, try not to use lumience when you're exhausted, the side effects aren't fun."

          Káel drowsily acknowledged Mariel's advice, trying to move his head away from Puff's barbed tongue as it scraped against his face. His hair was still matted and curled into a soggy mess, marinating the white pillow cradling his head and dotting a small puddle on the polished floorboards to his immediate right.

          "When you're feeling better, Lady Samanthra would like to speak with you," she continued, walking over to the door with a pitcher in tow and propping it a crack with her toe. "Your friends are still in class, but I'm sure they'll come along soon."

          Káel waited for the door to click, leaning up to scour the clustered space for Phantom. He was standing in the far corner, an unnervingly creepy rigidness to his squared shoulders as he stared directly at him. The floor didn't catch his steps with a clack as he drifted closer, arms folding across his chest. 

          "Good afternoon sleepy head," he said with a small bow, he'd lost his disguise and now looked as flamboyant as ever. "You should have seen it, your teacher threw you over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes and carried you all the way back here."

          Káel pressed on his temples in attempt to alleviate his headache. "Did we win?"

          "Nope," Phantom replied, his voice piping with a clear lack of consolidation. "but you got second place."

          Disbelief painted Káel's face as he squinted. "Who beat us?"

          "The Molves. Each student counted as a point for them and they snagged over half the class, including the guardians. But the teacher admired your effort," he said, not even trying to be comforting. "Tell me, how nice is it to know all your efforts were in vain?"

          Káel glared at Phantom, slipping down into his covers and cocooned himself in the thin bed sheets.

    —————   

          His friends had been in and out. The bulk of his encounters centered on Truvius, who had taken Mariel's job as an unqualified, glass refilling, and handkerchief providing, nurse. 

          In his spurt of bumpy naps, he finally managed to soothe his scratchy throat enough to pass out for a few hours. However, his break of serenity hadn't lasted long enough. The deep slumber shattered by a voice akin to the Antichrist.

          Ray.

          "He knows, I gave him a book and everything. It's not like I just tossed him on Lumi to fend for himself." Ray's towering shadow swept past Káel as he left the room with Mariel, the two of them exchanging in a string of harsh whispers until the door sealed, and their voices fell flat.

           Káel pulled himself up with a groan, running his fingers through his slick tangles of hair and pulling back with disgust at the slimy consistency. He got his answer when he glanced at Puff, the small dragon licking his lips before turning to grooming his own face. 

          With a stiff pop, Káel loosened his back, speared at every angle with the strained screams of his over-exhausted muscles. But after the hours spent bound to his bed, he had to give them a stretch, even if it was a short walk. Visiting Lady Samanthra sounded like a short enough venture, but he hadn't the foggiest clue as to where the administrator was. And he doubted Phantom could help.

           Káel sighed, his rough throat scraping with a couple sticky swallows, and forcing him to down another glass of water to soothe the raw pain. As he glugged the liquid, the door before him flew open, a gusting breeze spiking Káel's surprise and forcing the trickle of water down his windpipe.  

          Alestra was greeted with a string of violent coughs as she gently closed the door, hazelled eyes resting on Káel in calculative patience for him to get over it. "Sorry, Mariel told me you were still sleeping."

           Káel tried to reply, but hacked out a pressed cough, eyes squinted with painful tears that trickled down his cheeks. Her visit wasn't even on his list of expectations, and her greeting, void of care and to the point, did anything but comfort. 

          Would she have come into the room if he wasn't sleeping?

          "I know this is a little weird..." she started, waiting for Káel to down the rest of the glass and choke his fit. "But I have a question."

           Káel lifted his chin, their gazes locked as he saw a shimmer of worry in Alestra's eyes. She moved to open her mouth, the words pulled back by a mysterious force as her body shrank back.

          "What?" Káel said, his tone flat enough to draw a flinch from her.

          She hesitated again, a scale with unknown consequences weighing heavily on her mind as it dictated the words flowing from her mouth. "When we fell through the floor... what spell did you use on that Molve?"

          Káel tilted his head, his face a tapestry of confusion. "Rastasnatch?"

          Alestra shook her head. "The other one."

          The other one?

           He tried to trace his memories back, but all he remembered was the fireball, followed by a wave of exhaustion that swallowed him whole. Eyes searching the lucid floor, Káel twisted himself to sit off the side of the bed, but the new position couldn't spring his memories.

          He gave Phantom a fleeting glance, his silence lingering too long as he noticed Alestra's feet. Ever so slowly backing away.

         "It's okay," she breathed, dipping her head in one way understanding. "I'm one too." 

          A look of warmth brushed her smile as Káel lifted his gaze, her eyes shining with a glow of friendship. 

          "But can we keep this conversation between us?"

          With an itch for answers, Káel opened his mouth, only to have the door crack open again. Truvius obliviously moving to Káel's bedside with a new pitcher of water, and a smile just as happy as four hours prior. "Got some more water."

          Truvius' hospitable mask crumbled at Káel's expression, mouth still hanging with a dead question on his lips, as the disappointment pooled from his deflating shoulders. He moved along Káel's fixed gaze, his eyebrows popping for Alestra as she dipped her head and quickly excused herself. 

          A wash of silence lingered with her departure, Truvius' gaze dropping to Káel. "Did I interrupt somethi-"

          "Nope," Káel involuntarily sighed, oblivious to the hurt twang that flashed across Truvius' face. "I'm going to Samanthra."

          Truvius nodded, his quaint smile returning as he robotically refilled the glass upon hearing the lingering rasp in Káel's voice. 

    —————   

          Káel dizzily climbed the swirling staircase, with Truvius leading him and constantly looking back to ensure his friend wasn't about to faint again. A couple acquaintances had hitched a ride during his short walk, Leon, Vera, and Talli lingering at the lip of the carpeted stairs to chat. Completely deterred by it's exhaustive height. 

          They finally stopped before the dragon carved doors in awkward silence, Truvius trying to mask his wheezing pants as he grabbed his knees. He finally straightened his back with a heavy sigh, poking at the smoothed metal with confusion. "Are we supposed to knock... Or?"

          Káel was too tired for formalities and shoved the door open, spooking a woman who was on the other side, standing on a scraggly ladder that screamed danger.

          Lady Samanthra hugged the shelf to steady her sudden imbalance, and looked to her guests like a deer in headlights, the ladder quickly stabilising in the thick carpet. "Oh sorry dears, you scared me." She shakily climbed off the ladder, smacking the hoards of dust off her robes and pushing her glasses up. "I was doing some cleaning," she continued, greeting the two with a warm and casual smile. As if students barging into her office stood as a daily occurrence. "What business do you two have here?"

          "Oh not me," Truvius said with a chuckle, sticking his thumb out at Káel. "He said you summoned him."

          Samanthra stared at Káel for a bit, processing who the unknown student was, until her schedule caught up with her train of thought. "Oh! Káel!... You're Káel, right?"

          Káel nodded exhaustively, pressing his temples as his headache spiked.

          "Dear, you look like you have one foot in the grave, I could've sworn I told Mariel that you could see me when you were feeling better. Apologies if I forgot, for this meeting wasn't very dependant on timing." She grabbed a chair from the corner of the room and slid it over to Káel, eyes wandering to Truvius as she remembered he was still standing there. "And you are?"

          "His roommate, Truvius Jake Minefeld, pleasure to meet you mi'lady," he said, bowing courteously to her.

          "Oh! Truvius! I don't think we've formally met. I'm actually quite glad you chose Cobalt." Her warm smile froze over as she rested her palm on Káel's chair. "Unfortunately this meeting is private. I need to discuss personal information with Káel."

          "Is this about him being from... A far away location?" Truvius whispered, quietly closing the large iron door they had entered through.

          "Oh. You know about that." Samanthra looked to Káel with disappointment. "And what else do you know about our foreign guest?"

          "Pretty much everything, but I can assure you my mouth is sealed," he replied, garnishing the claim with a wink. "I'll take my leave now."

          "Of course, if it's not too much trouble could you wait for Káel? I'm not trusting towards his current condition."

          Truvius nodded, and quickly left the room, while Káel plopped into the chair Samanthra had provided him with, looking at her with a half dead frown.

          "So, are you having fun with your stay at Cobalt?" started said, strolling over to her desk, and fiddling with something behind it.

          "Not gonna lie, It's... unique." Káel looked around the large room cautiously. Puff brushed past his legs, playing with a bundle of string hanging off a skillfully woven tapestry of a large black dragon.

          There was a concerning crunch, and a relieved sigh from Samanthra as she pulled a large object into view, awkwardly rolling it across the ground. Káel's eyes widened at the sight of his suitcase. Still brand new from neglect as one of the many artifacts clogging the basement.

          Puff cowered in fear at the roaring metal beast the lady dragged behind her, and quickly scurried under Káel's chair with a growl. His sanctuary was short lived however, Káel's barring legs shifting as he jumped to his feet in surprise.

          "Where did you get that?"

          "Oh, your uncle sent it." Lady Samanthra grunted as the suitcase hitched on a floorboard. "I believe you called him Staz."

          "He was here?!" Káel exclaimed, dropping his tone as Samanthra flinched. "When? How could he be on Lumi?"

          Samanthra shook her head, trying to mask the pity in her voice. "He wasn't here in person. Sent one of his henchmen who delivered this odd contraption to me, then immediately grabbed Ray as soon as he saw him and tried to drag him off along with him. Unfortunately, I had to intervene, since Ray is not someone I can simply hand off to people."

          "Henchmen?" Káel questioned, now he was really getting a mafia image from his uncle.

          "Oh just one of his golems, tall, emotionless, buff as a basilisk bull." Samanthra grabbed her feather duster and placed it in a basket of other cleaning tools, her attention drawn as she wandered about the office.

          "Who exactly is my uncle?"

          Samanthra sighed. "Sorry, I wish I could tell you, but from a legal standpoint he's not permitted me to hand out that information... Even to you. Just know that you're in good hands here, and I'll do everything in my power to make you as comfortable and safe as any other student in this academy."

          Káel grabbed the suitcase and lifted it. It was heavy, which meant it was jam packed full of whatever his uncle deemed useful. A concerning thought.

          Puff slowly came out from under the chair and sniffed at the suitcase, his ears flattened back cautiously while he lightly pawed at its smooth grey surface.

          "Is this the dragon you rescued?" Samanthra said, pulling Káel away to stare at his guardian. "He's beautiful, probably from the Sandregian Ice Plains." She stuck her hand out towards Puff for him to sniff it, smiling sweetly as he obliged. "What a shame the poor thing was captured by dragon hunters. Unfortunately, most of the students don't think too highly of the nomad dragon tribes that live away from the Garaean empire, since they're more commonly savage than friendly towards us. He may have a rough time living here."

          "I don't see anything wrong with him, so if someone wants to give him a tough time they can go through me first," Káel replied, pushing Puffs face away from the suitcase's zipper as he nibbled at it.

          "For some reason I expected you to say that," Samanthra muttered, wiping the dragon fur from her hands as she stood and turned away. 

           "What makes you say that?" Káel replied, distracting himself with trying to pull the handle out of his suitcase, while Puff playfully attacked his hands. 

          Her back remained turned as she loomed over her desk, brushing through some loose sheets in a meandering river of thought. "Nothing in particular. I just have a knack for reading people. That's all if you wish to leave." 

           Káel finally pulled out the handle, rocking the bag back a forth a couple times to get the wheels moving as Puff hopped on for the free ride.  

          "Oh, one more thing actually," Samanthra boomed, her sharp voice cutting Káel from grabbing the door. "I got an odd report from one of the Molves that was involved in the game Mrs. Vienta gave your class, said it saw a strange man travelling with you." She glanced over her shoulder with a strange squint. "Did you see anything... Odd?"

          Káel froze. "No, I was too distracted by the Molve."

          "Hmm, it also said it felt a strange presence from a rock you were holding. Do you have the rock with you?"

          "Uh oh..." Phantom cut in. "I wouldn't recommend lying anymore, that Teetee thing is watching..."

          "Yes?" Káel squeaked, pulling Phantom's rock out of his pocket.

          Phantom muttered a spell under his breath, finishing with a sigh before Samanthra grabbed it. She pulled her glasses down, and rolled it in her palm, furrowing her brow as she inspected it.

          "Maybe it was a ghost..." she muttered, her icy eyes meeting Káel's. "Does this object have any important meaning to you?"

          "It's my lucky rock," he replied, slowly backing away to the door with his suitcase.

          Samanthra looked questionably at the distance that had grown between them, tossing the rock at him with a pressed smile. "That's all dear, try to be more careful next time.

          Káel nodded as calmly as he could, waving goodbye to Samanthra as he closed the door behind him.

          With a click to seal her voice, Samanthra's face dropped back to the serious and professional look she often wore. "Keep an eye on him, but be careful."

          "Yes mi'lady," Tia replied

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Quality Quip #2:

'The quickest way to make a long story short, is by interrupting.'

~ Anon