Kliff trudged back to the dormitories as the sun slipped below the horizon line, leaving the sky a deep shade of blue. He had hoped that his "meeting" would be brief, but it had dragged on far, much longer than he anticipated. Despite his best efforts, he barely made it to dinner on time, only to find cold plates of duck and vegetables waiting for him. 

He ate his meal alone in silence that night, eager to retire to his room early. Tomorrow was going to be a long day, made worse by the fact that he'd Spellcasting Class with his hyper-passionate professor.

There was hardly anybody present as he tramped through the hall, identical wooden doors scrolling past him on either side, not that he'd expected to be greeted by any faces so close to the ever-dreaded nine-clock hour. 

Typically, they wouldn't show until after nine-thirty, but Kliff had spotted two of them drifting across a cloudless sky, their pale, sinewy bodies catching the light of the Twin Sisters as skinny, almost useless arms trailed beside them as he moved. He had followed Hound's advice, of course, and let them carry on with their work, discounting their presence as he made for the dorm building at a quicker stroll than before.

However, it was hard to ignore the trio of specters poking their head through a portrait hung on the wall to his right, their sickly, yellow-colored eyes sliding from one side of their heads to the next as he passed, just as he couldn't so plainly disregard one of the palish creatures scurrying over the floor like some kind of translucent, undead rat, its detached arms hurrying on after it. 

Although these specters were of the smaller kind, being no larger than a toad one would be able to fit inside their hands. Nevertheless, Kliff didn't see himself getting accustomed to their presence any time soon, and it encouraged him to move even quicker to his room.

Up ahead, there was a figure approaching him, dressed in a plain, gray-colored shirt with a matching pair of short pants and open-toed sandals. The towel folded under the crook in his arm indicated that he was on his way to the washrooms; the specters must not have frightened him as they did so many others, himself included. 

The boy's eyes squinted into a thin line as he took notice of him, stopping a few paces from where Kliff stood slouched. "Another late night studying in the Library, I presume?" he said in a mock stern voice. "Heard you strummed up quite the commotion yesterday with a student in another class. Care to fill me in on the details?"

Kliff sighed to himself. "I'd prefer not to, Cael."

"Figured as much, but I suppose that won't be necessary. I expect that I'll learn as much as I need to when the rumors start to fester, as they always do in time."

Kliff leered at him. Nosy bastard. 

Yes, his roommate had always been one hard to get along with, and even after nearly two months of sharing the same space, Kliff knew little more about him now than he did at the beginning of the semester. Cael Tywin wasn't a mage to hold a conversation, nor did he care to expand upon his own background as he kept himself in a mist so thick venturing into it would be suicide. All that Kliff had learned of him was that he was of a Noble House stationed in the Capital. That was it.

Yet, in total contrast to his sequestered personality, he seemed to love to pry into the lives of others, more particularly, those that, according to him, had succeeded in "capturing his interest," whatever that meant. And so while Kliff couldn't get the boy to cough up his middle name, he hadn't a choice to reveal to him the dynamics of his fire spells if he longed to achieve any semblance of sleep that night, though, admittedly, he wasn't as intense as he had been at the start. What didn't help was how unnervingly monotone his voice was, as quiet as the breeze's whimpers yet as demanding as the roar of a waterfall; Kliff felt like he was obliged to answer him, especially if it meant that their conversation would end sooner.

His glare refused to simmer, however, as Kliff wondered if Cael truly did intend to let the matter rest, or if he had an entire list of questions at the ready to assault him with. He wasn't necessarily short of height, but even with that being the case, Kliff stood a good head above him and needed to lean his chin down in order to meet his pair of dark-blue eyes often clouded by ambiguity. 

The boy kept a slim frame—though his arms detailed signs of definition—with a head of dark-colored hair trimmed in a bowl-cut that tapered down the sides of his squarish face. As silent of tongue as he was when he wasn't berating someone with inquiries—he sort of reminded him of Elaine with how overbearing he got with his questioning, and he hated that that was the case—a soft voice and cloistered demeanor permitted him to blend in with the rest of the class easily, and if he were as proficient at naturally camouflaging during a lecture as he was in the field, then he'd make for a tricky opponent to best.

"By the way, it would appear that you have a visitor," Cael said, pointing a thumb in the direction that he came. "Odd thing, that. I would have figured the very first guest invited to the room of the famous Kliff Dresden would be of the female variety, lest your tastes swing contrary to what I was led to believe." Kliff ignored his comment, and surprise razored him in the stomach as he discerned Custas waiting by their door, leaning on the wall with his neck arched up at the ceiling and arms folded across his chest. "I told him you'd more than likely be late, but he was adamant and refused to leave until he saw you."

"Did he mention...what he wished to speak about?"

"Trust me, if I did, I would have told you by now," Cael said, continuing on past him, a hand cupping his mouth as he yawned. "Do be sure to conclude upon my return, yes? The upcoming weeks leading to Midterms will undoubtedly prove to be hectic. I don't want to miss an inkling of sleep."

Kliff frowned at him as he departed. You, of all people, don't get to say that. Inhaling through his nostrils, he advanced in a hesitant stride. He hadn't seen or spoken with Custas since their confrontation with Lukas. If nothing else, he was interested in what he had to say, though he could already feel his patience testing him when Custas swung his head toward him with a grimace forged plainly by annoyance.

"About time you showed! What kept you, fireboy?!" Custas shouted. "Man, it's a good thing I came here after dinner. Otherwise, I'd be going to bed on an empty stomach tonight."

"What do you want, Custas?" Kliff sighed apathetically, not bothering to entertain his nonsense.

"Oh, well...I...it's just that, given how everything turned out...I..." Whatever Custas was trying to communicate, it looked like it was physically wounding him as each subsequent word struggled to leave his mouth. He worked upon his face that of a strained expression reminiscent of a land dragon that had just been prematurely awoken from its nap, and he sounded about as intelligible as one as well. "You see...what you did...when that bastard Lukas had me looking desperate on the floor and all," he said, rubbing the nape of his neck profusely as he did. "You didn't have to...but you chose to nonetheless...and so I just wanted to tell you that I...that I...that you—"

"What happened, I didn't do it for you," Kliff said, cutting him midsentence, Custas' mouth hanging open as he was about to stutter something else. "Lukas went and made it personal. I felt like my honor had been damaged, but obviously, that was what he had planned in order to get me to duel him, and like a dulbrained sulmo, I fell right for it."

Custas looked at him wide-eyed. "We...Well, yeah, that was pretty stupid of you, but you and Elaine still got punished by the headmaster, right? And because of me! I at least think I should share some of the blame for what happened."

"Regardless of what Todd told you, they weren't there for you," Kliff explained calmly. "They were only using you to get to me, nothing more. Honestly, does Lukas really seem like the kind of guy who cares about what happens to his "friends"? Of course not; he took advantage of the situation in order to reap his own rewards. I doubt he would have even attacked you had you not been in some way connected to me."

"So, what?" Custas said, shooting daggers out of his glare. "You're robbing me of my accountability? Again?! Jeez, how greedy can you noblelings get? I had this whole thing planned out and everything!"

Kliff raised a brow as he winced. "You had this...planned? Wow, that's even more embarrassing. I kinda feel sorry for you."

"Shut up!" Custas snapped back.

"Anyway," Kliff grinned lightly, "you can save your apology. You didn't do anything wrong."

"Oh! Well, in that case, screw you!" Custas exclaimed happily, eyes closed and smiling.

Kliff frowned. Oh, come on. I thought we were having a moment...

"By the way, don't think I haven't noticed what you've been doing!" Custas shouted, pointing his finger at him

"Elaborate, please. What did I do to piss you off now?" Kliff yawned, lazily trotting past him and to his dorm room door.

"Like it isn't obvious. There's something going on between you and Elaine, isn't there?" That got Kliff to pause, and when he turned his head to aim an eye split by surprise back at Custas, it only seemed to confirm something within the boy, his already prominent grimace deepening. "I knew it. You've got feelings for her, don't you?"

Kliff could feel himself beginning to color with heat, but he composed himself—and his emotions—with a cough into a closed fist. "Me and Elaine? Give me a break," he said harshly. "Do you have any idea how many suitresses my father has got lined up for me? He'd never stand for me courting someone who isn't from a major Noble House, let alone a lowborn. Get real."

Custas cut a leer at him. "So, I'm just speaking nonsense then?"

"As always," Kliff grunted. "But given your reaction to the prospect that I was, in some way, intrigued by her, well, I'm only left asking if there's something you've got on your mind as well. Admit it, Custas. It's you that has fallen for her."

"Quit tryna pretend to be smart! You're not a mindreader, sulmo!" Custas growled, although Kliff chuckled at how he didn't deny the allegations outright; rather, once he caught himself, he looked to the floor with colored cheeks and a vulnerable expression, kicking something invisible with his boot. "And what if I was? Got a problem with that?"

Kliff arched a brow. "So you do like her, then?"

"Honestly, fireboy, can you blame me? Who wouldn't?" Custas exclaimed defensively. "I've seen dozens of girls growing up in the Capital, nobles and the like, but none of them have quite caught my eyes like Elaine. I don't know, there's something different about her that I...can't manage to put into words. On the plus side, though! I think I've got a chance!"

Kliff laughed as he leaned against his door, crossing his arms. "Is that right?"

"Well, for one thing, she's not of noble descent, so there's nothing to worry about on that front! What's more, she wants to be a sorcerer! Just like me!"

Doesn't everyone here want to be a sorcerer? Kliff thought, smirking.

"Then there's the way of how passionate she gets when she's talking about magic! I won't lie, at first, I was a little put off by it."

"Fearne mentioned something to me about how she nearly pulled your tongue out of your head or something crazy like that. I thought she was just exaggerating."

"It's true! The first day I met her, she tried to yank the thing clean off!" Custas confirmed, shivering compulsively at what was sure to be an uncomfortable memory for him. "I thought she was kind of weird back then, but now I just think it's part of her charm! Then there's the matter of her kind personality. Didn't reckon I'd come across someone as pure-hearted as her when I came here, but I guess I was a sulmo! Also, there's..."

As Custas went on with his rambling, it looked to Kliff that he'd forgotten that he was even still there; Kliff got another grin out of that. But he could recognize where Custas was coming from. Elaine was a very special girl; at least, he thought so. 

More than her magic, more than her personality, there was an aspect to her Essence that caused his heart to flutter when she was around, and sunder her, the girl had a habit of making him feel vulnerable, annoyingly so.

Still, if her societal status didn't draw most nobles away, then he imagined she'd catch the eye of many potential suitors, as evident by Custas, who had yet to close his mouth. Yet Kliff detected something tugging at the back of his skull, the gradually accumulating pressure of light fading out of his soul. 

The hell is wrong with me? he thought, frowning. It was a byproduct of Elaine, for certain, or maybe, this had to do with the prospect of...losing her? But what did he care for who the girl courted and whom she did not? She was his friend, first and foremost, and he would support whoever had succeeded at capturing her affections. And yet the more he thought of it, the more that pulling in his skull tugged at a desperate ferocity. Dammit! The last time he felt this way was with...was with...

Stay focused on the mission, a petulant voice growled in his head. The reason you came here. I can't let myself be distracted, least of all by things like...

Kliff never had much experience with love. His father always emphasized how important courtship was for a person of his class and power, but truthfully, he never cared all that much for it, especially since most noble ladies couldn't go five seconds without lying behind their masks. But Elaine, well, she was certainly different from the rest of them; Kliff figured she wouldn't even know what to do if she had a mask of her own. Kliff cringed to himself as the pulling sensation tugged at him again, this time much more ferociously.

"Ah, fritz! Why am I even going over this with you, of all people?" Kliff jerked in surprise as Custas brought him back to the real world with an exclaim, and with his hand placed behind his head, Kliff watched as the boy sauntered down the hallway, grumbling. "If you really aren't interested in Elaine, then there's nothing left for us to discuss. See ya, you jerk."

"Was it true?" Kliff called after him, and Custas expressed his annoyance with a sigh as he tilted his head back to the ceiling in an exaggerated manner.

"Is what true?" Custas asked bitterly.

"You know, the whole thing about..." Kliff trailed off with a gulp; he should probably choose his next few words very carefully, "...about you being a member of Serpent Fang." A silence stormed the empty halls after that. Anticipating a response in the form of a shout or a curse, Kliff braced for impact with a pinched face and clenched fists at his sides, but surprisingly, what only Custas had for him was a long exhale streaming out his nostrils.

Instead of responding to him outright, Custas raised his right arm and pulled down the sleeve of his shirt. Kliff's lips grew tight at what he saw: a palish and jagged mark smeared over his brown skin, as wide as the width of his arm and stretched from the base of his shoulder to his elbow. 

It was a horrid thing, though Kliff didn't suspect it was a burn mark; rather, it looked to be the result of a kind of bladed weapon, one that had been driven a good length through his flesh. With a squint, Kliff also noted the traces of an oddly shaped emblem engraved in his arm. However, the sections of it that weren't obscured from the scar had more than likely already been healed over time.

"I'm thankful this academy has segmented bathing stalls. Otherwise, this would be kinda hard to explain if someone saw it." Custas chuckled to himself, a half-hearted, short-lived chortle. "Every lick of what Lukas said was true. Sunder him, but he wasn't lying. I won't deny it. Before I enrolled in Glyph, I was a part of the Serpent Fang Syndicate. Not a high-ranking member, mind you, but, well, they valued my prowess for magic, and so they kept me around. I knew they were only using me, just as I was aware that what we were doing—robbing and pillaging—was wrong, but I didn't care. I only wanted to live long enough to see the next sunrise."

Kliff, not entirely sure what to say, quietly scanned him with a quizzical glance. "Does the headmaster know about this?"

"Of course he does! I wouldn't be here had that not been the case!" Custas snapped, spinning to face him. "I wanted to keep it a secret! But now, everyone and their mother knows I'm a surgin' criminal...and honestly, I don't really care anymore. Let the sulmos think what they want to; never put much stock in how you goldbloods perceived me."

"...It's...it's okay," Kliff said hesitantly. "I happen to know a thing or two about...having your secrets told by a stranger."

"Yeah, yeah, I bet you do," Custas snickered. "Anyway, after a bad heist, one that saw me with a wounded ankle as my so-called "teammates" left me there to get captured by the Military, I was approached by one of Glyph's representatives, a sorcerer named Raze; he's the headmaster's assistant, I'm pretty sure. He gave me the choice of either being thrown in a mage detention center for the next couple of years or attending Glyph Academy as a full-time sorcerer in training. Looking back at it now, it wasn't much of a choice, really." Custas winced as he pointed a finger at the scar. "When someone joins Serpent Fang's ranks, they're expected to bear the official brand of the syndicate. And on the day I agreed to be a student, I made this as a reminder never to look back."

"I see..." Kliff said sullenly as Custas rolled back down his sleeve.

"My entire life has been nothing but a series of being abandoned and running away," Custas muttered, more to himself than to Kliff. "Once I graduate and am made a Professional Sorcerer, I'll live the life I've always dreamed of. Luck's never given me much happiness, so I guess it's up to me to find some myself." A muscle twitched inside Custas' jaw, and he pinched an irritated scowl on his face, one that he directed straight toward Kliff. "Don't go telling anyone this, all right? Jeez, the last thing I need getting out is my sob story."

"You aren't a criminal anymore, Custas. If anyone accuses you of being one, then they're an even bigger sulmo than Lukas." Kliff felt a smile reach him as Custas stared at him, stunned and wordless. "Relax, I'm not in the business of relinquishing someone else's secret. Yours will be safe with me."

"I pray to Kyntho that's the case. Anyway, I've wasted enough of my night on you. I'm out of here."

Kliff sighed as he watched him depart in a staggering stalk that made his shoulders bounce. Even now, he wasn't necessarily certain as to what their relationship was like; were they friends, or did Custas still view him as a foe? Or even worse, a rival in love. Kliff shuddered at the thought. 

Custas had made it a good distance down the hallway before he paused midstep. "By the way, speaking as a guy who's spent a good deal of time in the company of murderers," he said with soft interest, his back to him, "you don't really strike me as one."

And with that, Custas left, leaving Kliff standing alone, stunned and still. The flash of the warp circle had long since dissipated, but the memory of it lingered in Kliff's mind. Despite the fact that it wasn't much of a secret, Kliff decided to keep it to himself. Showing sympathy to a greedy and detestable goldblood? He was fairly certain Custas wouldn't want that getting out, either.