Draeyer Academy
Drae Skyland
Northeastern Space

Without saying anything, they padded over the carpet-less floor and toward a narrow hallway. The white walls turned grey as they entered the sweet scented corridor. Gael released Alec's head from his hold after numerous taut taps he received on his arm. Small portraits of men and women dressed in the same flamboyant attire of red, black and white, lined the walls. Unlike the time in his youth, he took no notice of those people on the paintings. But, Alec though, paused in his tracks, causing him to turn his head and raise a brow at the younger man. The young man ignored his look, and stared at one of the portraits of man with black hair, and blue eyes the same shade as his. Gael stepped toward him, and looked down at the small golden plate where one could spot engraved writings.

Ardinel Roselinne Skywarden
"Second Headmaster of Draeyer Academy"

He looked up at Alec and noticed the deep crease between his brows as if deep in thought. He coughed causing the young man to snap his attention to him.

"Let's go," he said. Alec nodded at him, but right after he took another glance at the painting of the former headmaster that handled the Academy so many years ago. A few moments later, they stopped in front of two large wooden doors. Gael knocked and waited for permission to enter. He looked behind him and saw Alec staring up at the golden sign above the door, which answered the question of where they were.

"Come in," a deep voice came from inside. Gael placed his hand on one of the silver knob and pushed one door flap open. Once he did, Headmaster Donovan's grinning face greeted him from behind a huge wooden desk. He opened the door wider, and Alec followed him inside as well.

"Finally, you're here!" the headmasters voice rang in his red and white office. He stood from his chair, and moved around the table to greet them. Gael's brows meet in the middle when he saw the old man's grey eyes grew big in surprise, and his mouth fell open. Alec tilted his head to the side, as he locked gazes with headmaster. His brows knit, almost as much as Gael's, for seeing the old man's reaction.

"Headmaster Donovan," Gael called. This snapped the man out his daze, and he released his gaze from Alec's. He coughed and loosened the cravat around his neck. One drop of sweat fell down the wrinkles on the side of his face.

"You two take a seat," the headmaster said as he motioned at the two seats in front of his desk. He pivoted and went back to his chair. He took off his white coat, and draped it over the back of his red cushioned wooden seat. Gael looked at Alec, and nodded for him to do as the old man had said. Once they sat on the white chairs, Donovan spoke.

"What was your name again, boy?" the headmaster asked. His stormy grey eyes looked at Alec with a glint Gael couldn't fathom. It seemed like his attention was solely on the young man.

What's wrong with him? he thought.

"It's Alec, sir. Alec Arden," Alec said. He tapped his thigh as he fidgeted in his seat, giving the headmaster a few glances in the following silence that came.

"Alec..." Donovan trailed off with a faraway look in his eyes. He ran a hand through his graying hair, and looked down at the piles of documents on his desk. He sighed.

"You are aware of why Gael, Kreis, and I of course, decided to bring you here?" he said. Another minute of silence reigned over them and Alec stopped from fidgeting in his seat. Instead, his hand shook as he grasped his knee. "Rest assured, you're safe here, from that man, whoever he is. We want you to be comfortable in your stay here and let us protect you while you help us as well."

"Tell me what I got myself into," Alec said. "He hasn't told me enough," he said as he looked up at Gael. The latter looked down and waited for the headmaster to answer.

"I'm sorry," the old man said, "but we can't tell you. Now is not the time." He heard Alec huff, and looked up just in time to see him lean back in his chair and narrow his eyes at the floor.

"I'm not scared of him," he said. "It's fine if you don't want to tell me. I said this before. All I want is to see the bastard's corpse."

His cold tone seemed to bring chill to air around them, and the hair on Gael's nape rose with slight fear. Donovan on the other hand, intertwined his fingers and placed them in front of him.

"I can see that you want to that yourself," he said. Gael's eyes grew big, while Alec's head snapped to him fast enough to break a person's neck. He glared at the headmaster, while the old man returned his look with a small smile.

"Get rid of that thought first, boy," he said. "Nothing good would come if keep thinking about his blood on your hands." Alec looked away from him, and took a deep breath. He straightened in his chair, and tucked his hands in his pockets.

"This is none of your business, old man," he said.

"Alec, don't disrespect the headmaster," Gael, said as his tone rose by a decibel. Alec turned to glare at him before he looked towards the door.

"Let's just get on with this entrance exam," he said. "I want to rest."

The two young men turned to Donovan when they heard his deep laugh. He tipped back in his chair as his laughter grew louder and louder as seconds passed. Gael and Alec glanced at each other with raised brows before they returned their attention to the old man when he calmed down.

"I like you, boy. Keep that up," he said as he wiped a lone tear away from his eye. "I'll send for Erin, to take you to the exam room." He leaned back and opened one of his drawers. He took out a circle slab of black crystal. Swiping his thumb over the surface, it lit up.

"Erin, the examinee is here. Take him to the room, if you please," Donovan said. The crystal glowed white, when a man's voice spoke from it.

"I'm coming over, sir," he said. Donovan nodded and swiped his thumb over it once more, before placing it back in his drawer.

"A commu-crima," Alec whispered. Gael's attention went to him, having remembered what he needed to give the young man.

"Before I forget," he said. His hand went in his pocket, and felt around for the object he wanted. When he grasped it, he took and threw it to Alec, who in return, caught it without blinking and eye. When the boy's eyes landed on the crystal in his hand, he dropped his jaw.

"This is too much," he said. "I don't need one in the first place." He planned to throw it back, but Gael leaned forward and stopped his arm.

"You're going to need one now. It's to make communication between us easier," he said. "And also, it's for your own safety as well. The moment I asked you to come with me, so I can keep you safe, I decided to take responsibility and be your guardian."

Alec heaved a sigh and tucked the commu-crima into his pocket while he enclosed his fist on it. He crossed his arms over his chest. A man, Erin, entered the room, his smile, oblivious of the light tension in the room.

"You must be Alec," he said. "Shall we?"

Alec stood up, and stared down at the headmaster, and then at Gael. He kept his gaze on Gael far longer than the man was comfortable with.

"What?" he asked.

"I just found another thing to add to the growing list of things you planned for me without my knowledge," Alec said. He walked over to the door, passing Erin who directed both his raised brows to Gael. The latter shrugged, and Erin left out the door, disappearing from their sight as well as Alec.

Donovan let out another laugh, and this time he pounded on the hard wood of his table with his fist. Gael stared with a stone face at the childish behavior he was showing him.

Sometimes, I just don't know what to think about you, Gael thought. At the same time, he thanked the Lord Kosmos that he alone had the ability to read thoughts in this Academy. When Donovan calmed from his fit once again, he leaned on his desk while gasping for air.

"I take it back," he said. "I love that kid." Gael saw how his grey eyes lit up. It turned a shade lighter like it always did when he was thinking something for his enjoyment, and the benefit of others.

"Headmaster, I hope you're not scheming anything that involves Alec," Gael immediately stated causing Donovan to chuckle at his words.

"Gael Fenrin," he said with a smile, "you know very well that the only time, I'd stop scheming is when all the skylands sink towards the inexistent bottom of Kosmiks."

Gael was sure that Donovan was expecting him to roll his eyes, so instead of doing that, he sighed and stared at the grey floor.

"Headmaster, Alec isn't like the other students who would let other people plan out his life, and let them lay out choices for him. He's independent, as you have probably noticed by now" he said. "He gave me a glimpse of what his life has been for a very long time. So all this...is so different to him, even normal interaction with people."

He looked up and found Donovan looking at him with a small smile on his face. He leaned back in his chair, never breaking their eye contact.

"You got attached to him rather fast, my boy," he said. "Care to tell me why?" Gael looked up at the ceiling and sighed before locking gazes with the old man once more.

"He and I...are the same," he said. "I see myself in him when I was his age. Always alone and longing for companionship even though he doesn't show it. We've lost the most important people in our lives right before our very eyes.

"This Academy got rid of all the loneliness and sadness in me. And I want the same thing to happen to Alec. I want him to be happy and let him know that there are people out there that are willing to care for him."

Donovan sighed and a soft chuckle left him. He shook his head as he stood, before he walked over to one of the bookcases that lined the walls of his office.

"You've grown a lot Gael," he said. "You really are far from that young boy who did nothing but cause trouble and give me headaches every single day." Gael chuckled as he watched him looking through the spines of books lined before him. He looked down at the floor as a smile flew to his face. "I'm not planning anything," he said, "At least for now."

This time, it was Gael who laughed and shook his head at him. "And you're still the same man who proved that manipulation can actually be a good thing," he said.

"That, I still am," the old man said.

Gael watched his back, as he continued to run a hand on the shelves while looking for something. He was about to ask if he needed help, but stopped when the headmaster spoke.

"Is there something you need to tell me about Alec?" he said. He turned to him, bringing a black book along with his action.

"Like what?" Gael asked with a raised brow. Donovan made his way over to his chair, and placed the book on his desk. Once seated, he pointed to one of his ears.

"These ears can be powerful whenever I want them to be," he said. "And I heard you tell Alec, 'I see you're getting along with Areisha's Draeling' or something along those lines. And if my memory serves me right in this age, Emera isn't exactly your average sweet little Draeling that's willing to interact with anyone, except her Draeyer."

"I haven't heard you use your ability in a long time Headmaster. And yes, there is something with Alec," Gael said. Donovan raised a brow at him, when he looked up from the black book in his hands.

"Draes get along with him like he was their Draeyer. He can calm them, and he managed to tame the red Drae that the thief escaped with. He even named him Crimson," he said. "If that's his ability, then I think he's one of us. He's a Sentire."

"A Sentire..." Donovan trailed off the same way when he said Alec's name earlier. Gael frowned when he noticed the dazed look the headmaster had as he stared at something on the black book. The sound of the book snapping closed brought him out of his staring. "We need to make sure though," Donovan said, as his face turned serious. "So you were serious about him already passing the physical part of the exam?"

"Headmaster Donovan, I already gave you a written paper where the leader of Cetrulis Skyland's 1st Ryders Regiment, Kreis Hildegen, has strongly stated that Alec will pass any physical obstacle given to him in the exam," Gael said. "That is technically a recommendation, and with his position, it can't be easily denied. And you know how he hates to be bothered with writing any document, so that fact and his abilities are saying something." The old man sighed and rubbed his temples as he closed his eyes.

"If it's Kreis who said it, then I don't have to stress this old body to its limits," he said. Gael laughed at that and stared toward the double door.

"What are you thinking, my boy?" Donovan said.

"I hope Alec does our agreement and passes with flying colors," he said.

"I have a feeling that he will. He seems to be attached to you as well. Looks like his ability doesn't only work on Draes," Donovan said. He and Gael locked gazes, and their laughter filled the room.

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