Cordelia Tavis silently rummaged through her rucksack, revealing the almost a dozen daggers she had packed, placing four in the sheaths of her leather pants. She then tucked two under her pillow along with the rest imbedded in the sheet of her bunk.

Immediately after the opening ceremony where they had been given their squads, the first years were shown to their bunks. Many of them were split a part, but one-hundred and fifty six of them were settled into the first year barracks. Cordelia was there, along with the rest of her squad. Including her new best friend, Ridoc Gamlyn.

The other members of her squad were huddled around Ridoc's bed, which was unsurprisingly the one next to her's. They were excitedly exchanging names, trying to get to know the cadets they would be working with for the next three years, if they survived that long.

Cordelia barely cared enough to learn these people's names. Not only would most of them perish before even The Threshing, but she didn't need new friends; she had her boys. Of course, Cordelia had never been quite good at making friends in general, but especially not in a situation like this.

"Okay, so we've gone through everyone!" One of the girls in the squad clapped her hands together, looking around the circle of cadets. Cordelia had to admit that this girl was stunning. Her long dark brown braids that ran down her back almost matched the color of her skin. She was tall, towering over most of the other girls. And Cordelia had to admit, she kind of seemed cool.

Cordelia heard Ridoc clear his through, and her whole body tensed. "Uh, actually, we have missed the most friendly member of our group." His gaze shifted to the bed next to his, the rest of the group following suit.

"Oh shit, I so did not realize!" She stood up, switching her spot of the edge of Cordelia's bed. "What's your name?" The girl's eyes drifted down to Cordelia's left arm, which was now fully exposed as she had changed into a tank top as soon as they entered the barracks.

The separatists kid furrowed her eyebrows before her gaze snapped back to Ridoc. The glare she sent to him was enough to rip his body apart right then and there. Ridoc winked at the girl, leaning into a red headed boy on his bed. He whispered something in the boy's ear, causing a snort to leave the red head's nose.

Cordelia did not want to speak to these cadets at that moment. She wanted to find Bodhi. What he had said to her had been hanging on her mind. What could he have to talk to her about?

"Cordelia." She grumbled, moving her rucksack under the bed. She glanced up at the rest of the group, who all had their eyes on the relic on her arm. She hadn't realized it yet, but she was the only cadet in their squad with a rebellion relic.

Part of her felt bad that she had blocked out when the rest of her squad were introducing each other, because now they all knew her name. But she would learn their names eventually as she was about to spend every single day with these people.

"Don't be shy, Deli." Ridoc wiggled his eyebrows at the girl. "Tell the group about yourself. What's your zodiac sign?" A laugh rang through the group.

Cordelia cocked and eyebrow at the boy. "Shut it, Gamlyn."

Before the boy could respond with another sarcastic comment, a knock at the doorway of the barrack's took their focus. Bodhi Durran stood there, his knuckled resting softly against the wood of the arch. As soon as Cordelia's eyes met his, he tilted his head up, motioning for her to come with him.

"I'll be back." Cordelia practically jumped off of the cot. She turned back to her squad, her eyes specifically meeting Ridoc's. "Don't wait on me to talk more about your zodiac signs or whatever." His arms crossed over her chest as he stared at the boy in the archway. "Honestly, I could not give less of a fuck. Most of you probably won't even make it to Threshing." She didn't care that she was being rude. She did not want to want to let these people in if they were just going to die soon.

A shocked silence rung through their squad as they watched Cordelia march out of the barracks to meet the second year rider. "Fuck, guys." Ridoc let out a groan, his head flopping back on his pillow. "She might be the hottest and meanest thing I've ever met."

As Cordelia approached the archway that Bodhi leaned against, Bodhi's gaze softened, taking in his favorite girl. "Hi." He spoke, pushing himself off the wall.

"Hi." Cordelia returned, staring up at him.

She could have sworn he had grown a couple inches over the year, and if that wasn't enough, Bodhi gained a good amount of muscle. He had always been well built, but now he was huge. He had a scruff of hair lining his jaw, as he truly did not care enough to be completely fully shaven anymore. His eyes had grown a bit darker; not the color, but the gaze itself. But Cordelia knew that was what happened over the course of year one as a rider.

"You wanted to talk?" She questioned the boy as he stared down at her, barely even blinking as if he did not want to lose a single moment of her.

Bodhi nodded. "We can talk in my room."

Cordelia followed the unusually quiet boy up the stairs until they reached the second floor where many of the second year rider's rooms were. They passed through one of the hallways, and near the dead end, Bodhi stopped, facing a door. He brought his hand to the handle of the door, and it popped open.

The girl's eyes widened. She knew the rider's were able to channel their dragons power into forms of lesser magic, but she had never seen it with her own eyes before. "This is me." Bodhi spoke, as he passed through the doorway and into his room.

He watched Cordelia glance around his room as he shrugged off his riders jacket, hanging it on the back of the chair at his desk. "This place is huge." Cordelia gasped, before her eyes landed on the window that pointed out to a cluster of woods that stood behind Basgiath.

Bodhi looked down at his feet, subconsciously cursing out Cordelia's brother for forcing him to do this. He took in a deep breath before looking back up and finding Cordelia standing right in front of him. "Hi." She repeated from earlier. She didn't realize that after a year, she would be nervous to talk to him again. Her lips curled into a soft smile as she looked up at him. She had missed this boy so much.

"Hi." Bodhi returned, his eyes traveling over her face, seeing what had changed in the past year. She looked older, much more mature than the girl he left at their foster home. His gaze fell to her lips. Her gorgeous lips. He missed her lips. He missed feeling her lips against his.

He did not think he would have the strength to do what he had to do. He loved this girl too much.

Cordelia's hands landed on Bodhi's waist where his shirt was tucked into his flight leathers. "I wasn't ready to see you in flight leathers." The girl chuckled, her fingers traveling up his chest, sending a shiver down his spine. "Fuck, Bod. You look so fucking good."

Correction. He knew he did not have the strength to do what he had to do.

"Baby, I-"

Cordelia cut the boy off, reaching up on her toes to press her lips against his. Bodhi melted under her touch, his hands moving to her waist. As her arms curved over his shoulders, Bodhi deepened the kiss, his tongue swiping against her bottom lip. Cordelia immediately opened her mouth slightly, allowing his tongue to meet her own.

Bodhi's grip stiffened as he suddenly remembered why he brought her here to begin with. She felt his body tense, and she fell back, her eyes tracing his face. "What's wrong?"

"I think it's best if we don't get back together just yet."

"Huh?" The girl's eyes widened. This is the last thing she expected. She stepped back from the boy, opening the space between them. "You don't want to be with me?"

Bodhi shook his head frantically. "It's not, I promise you that." He took her hands in his. "I just think that maybe you should focus on not dying here and getting a dragon."

Cordelia's eyebrows lifted before she came to a realization. "Garrick is making you do this, isn't he?"

"Don't be mad at him."

"No, I'm going to be fucking mad at him." She let go of his hands, and began pacing around the room.

Bodhi's heart broke as he watched her. "He's right, though. This would be a distraction to you."

"I don't give a shit." The girl snapped, turning back to him. "It's not fucking fair that he gets to run my life just because he's my brother." She sat down on the edge of his bed, her face falling into her hands.

"It's not like that." Bodhi sat down next to her, his arm wrapping around her. "You know that I love you." He took her chin in his other hand, lifting it so she was looking up at him. "If something happened to you because you were off your guard and focusing on me, it would kill me." He watched a tear drop down her cheek, and he quickly brushed it away. "At least until after Threshing."

The girl nodded, her arms wrapping around his waist, hugging him. "This doesn't mean I'm losing you as a friend, right? I need you, at least, as a friend."

"You could never lose me as a friend, Cordy."

Word Count : 1689
AN:
Here's a shorter chapter, but I
wanted to get the rest of
conscription day out.
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