Chapter Text
Niya watched as Auristela strode away like she knew where she was going. It irked her, not because of her pompous attitude, - she knew what lay underneath it- but mostly because Niya knew she was going the wrong way. She gripped the bow tightly until it felt like it might break, then with a sigh she turned to pack up her stuff. There was no longer any point in practicing after what happened tonight, not when Niya knew she no longer had any motivation to. She was good enough, she supposed.
The memory of tonight still burned clearly in her mind. The overwhelming worry when Auristela leaned into her touch with glazed eyes, Niya had only just gotten her to sit down before she passed out. Niya knew Auristela well, too well, even for her own good.
She knew Auristela’s habits and methods of self harm like she knew her own favorite sweets, except candy never made her as sick as seeing the look of Auristela’s face when she pushed herself beyond what she could handle. She’d been running in cold weather again, a habit Niya had foolishly thought she’d broken when they were together.
But she supposed she never really knew Auristela like she thought she did.
She shoved the feelings away as she picked up the last two things still needed to be put away. A feather from Teo, signifying her as one of his flock. Niya felt warm and fuzzy when she twirled it in her fingers, a feeling swept through her like she was lighter than the breeze that rocked calmly beneath her feet. Teo had chosen her, she was family to him now. She longed to tell Teo about Aristela, but she made a promise.
Opposite to the feather, which seemed to radiate affection and familiarity, the arrowhead seemed to bore into Niya menacingly, not unlike the person it had nicked. For a reason unbeknownst to her, she folded the cloth it was around over it and placed it into her bag where It settled heavily. Even though Niya knew it was lighter than most of the stuff in there, the cloth seemed to have an invisible weight to it that made the bag droop down to her lower back.
The feather was placed into its handcrafted leather pouch and placed around her neck, so it could be close to her heart, Niya was never as fond of semantics as Auristela after all. The lantern, in its globe-like form was blown out and tossed into a waste bin near Sonder Hall. It was about 4:30 in the morning and all hopes of sleeping for even an hour were dashed when she approached Sanctimony Hall, where her dorm was.
Lines of students stood stiffly in rows in front of their dorm buildings, emotions ranging from nervousness to apathy as a drill was being conducted. Or the beginning of one, anyways. Niya groaned internally and dragged her feet towards her hall. If there was a drill in process, it meant one of her Paragons already noticed her absence from her room. Niya grit her teeth and prayed she could at least slip in from the back and fein an unwarranted snack break or something and get off with a lighter sentence.
Niya felt a rush of sympathy for Auristela, who was also probably in the same situation before remembering she was a Paragon. Lucky her. She tried to tamp down her feelings of bitterness and hurt whilst also trying to find a way into her group of hallmates when she felt a hand press firmly into her left shoulder. Every muscle in Niya’s body tensed.
Fuck .
“Out for some late night practice, little earthshaker?” Niya turned to face the voice with disbelief, and she let herself smile
“Maybe just a little, you know I can’t help myself” Neva chuckled softly at Niya and she knew she was saved. Neva was one of the 3 Paragon’s of Sanctimony Hall, and Niya’s personal favorite.
The frosty semidiosa was dressed lightly as usual, her light blue uniform shining brightly in the dawning sun. Neva wore her simple half body suit, only accentuated by a white scarf with a light blue tint and a gold star pin, illuminating her status as a Paragon. Neva was a child of Invierno, as anyone could see from a mile away. All of her hair was a silky white, everything from her eyelashes to the long waves that rolled off her back, set nicely like freshly fallen snow. Piercingly blue eyes observed Niya calmly as she rolled her shoulders and yawned, as if nothing in the world bothered her. Her skin was almost pale as paper, with strikingly blue snowflakes markings on her hips and arms, going all the way up to her neck.
“I’ll take our stuff for you before you get caught by by flameface ” Neva rolled her eyes and reached her hand out in an offering that Niya greatly appreciated. She passed her items to Neva who kept her ivory bow and silver quiver, accompanied by oak arrows that glowed white when she used them. The rest she cradled in her arms as she stalked off in the direction of their hall.
Niya hurried to join her hallmates, who all politely ignored her late appearance. See, this is what she loved about Sanctimony hall and her hallmates, the bond they shared, even in its simplest forms was “watch my back and i’ll watch yours”. She found her place in line just in time for the drill to start, relief flooding her whole body with how lucky she’d gotten.
Neva had offered her archery stuff and even her own practice location to help Niya, who she knew was struggling. On top of that, She pulled herself out of bed on time to lend Niya a helping hand to not get caught by one the less chill Paragon’s (Flameface in particular) and nobody ratted her out for showing up late. Tired as she was, this was one of the better mornings.
Until, of course, it wasn’t.
Brasa was in a sour mood as always, dry heat sucked all the moisture in the air around them as she watched them go through their reps. Polar opposite and older cousin to Neva, Brasa was a child of Verano and by far the worst Paragon of Sanctimony Hall.
When Niya was younger, Brasa had been firm, but not unkind. She had quite a morbid sense of humor and a sharp smile, flinty red eyes always intense. Olive skin shone in the sun, with a heavy dusting of coal black freckles layered on her shoulders and neck in a way that made it look like she’d just been cleaning a chimney, though she’d punt anyone bold enough to point it out.
Niya couldn’t pretend she didn’t know why the ever heated Brasa went stone cold, she knew why. Brasa was a year older than Niya, and two older than Neva, meaning this would be her last year at the Academy. Brasa had always worked her absolute hardest at everything, even more so than Niya, and it was just last year she was finally made a Paragon.
The problem? Neva also became a Paragon that same year, with two whole years less experience and half the effort Brasa put in. Since then, it seemed she never stopped fuming, one of the main reasons Neva was rarely ever present for drills like she was today. Using her Paragonal status to shirk her duties. Neva wasn’t fond of drama, and unlike Brasa, she seemed to hold no anger for her cousin besides her nickname.
Today Brasa pulled their hall through yet another desert drill, in which everyone was put into a “disaster scenario” where they must run through an obstacle course in a sandstorm whilst also guiding civilians to safety. By the time the drill was over, Niya was drenched in sweat and heavily dehydrated. Panting, she slid down the wall of the nearest building while chugging down a Purify water bottle.
“Tough drill, huh?” Marino wheezed as he approached, sighing as he plopped down next to Niya. “If I never saw another grain of sand in my life, it would still be too soon”
Niya tossed him a water bottle from her bag, and instead of drinking it, Marino poured the water on his head. Niya watched, fascinated, at how quickly Marino’s skin absorbed the water; it reminded Niya of the time their advanced Marine Biology class had an axolotl as a class pet, and she learned that axolotls absorb water through their skin as well as their mouths.
Niya had joked to Marino that he must be half alxolotl, to which he very seriously told her he was. To this day Niya wasn’t entirely sure if he was being genuine or not.
The first morning bell rang in the distance and Niya mournfully dragged herself upright before offering a hand to help Marino up as well. The latter took it gratefully and staggered onto hid feet.
“Nice seeing you around,” Marino grinned, water still dripping from his chin “If you’re free, come sit with me and Dezi during break”
“That would be nice, I’ll see you at the Ivory cafeteria?” Niya tilted her head, she usually chilled in the Quartz cafeteria, but most of her classmates preferred Ivory.
“Of course, we’ll be by the mess hall,” Marino nodded in agreement. He waved goodbye as he turned and Niya waved back before heading in the direction of the main locker rooms. Marino had a free 1st period, Niya wasn’t so lucky.
Magic studies wasn’t an especially hard class, but it was definitely one of the longest. The Gold Academy wasn’t like other schools, teachers could have their classes solely outside or in a cavern or even a mountain peak if they chose. Now that she was considered an upperclassmen, her teachers and her classes began to shift from standard to unique. For Ecology their teacher held her classes in a meadow, and in Earth Science they were almost always in some sort of museum.
As she walked into MS though, she had no idea what to expect, the class looked different every time she walked into it.
The classroom today was bland and perfectly square shaped, painted in hues of light greys and dark purples, with hints of cobalt and maroon. Metal and wood desks lined in cramped rows were the only things in the center of the class, the creaking sound of steps on the wood floor and the screech of metal chairs being pulled were the only sounds.
She resisted an annoyed sigh as the substitute declared a seating chart, throwing her bag over her shoulder and retreating to the back wall of the class. Leaning on the wall, Niya ignored the golden trio chattering a few paces off.
Auristela looked mildly displaced, her eyes swaying in and out of focus throughout their conversation. Ocelo loudly complained about the seating chart without noticing it, but Aurelio kept shooting worried glances at his sister. Niya’s own concern for the fire semidosa caused her to miss whatever the sub was saying, she was sure it was nothing important anyways.
“Niya of Tierra?” The sub asked, scanning the row of students. Niya hadn’t caught her name.
“Present” She responded, nodding respectfully.
The sub fixed her spectacles before pointing at Niya’s assigned seat, tapping it with her peach colored nails. Niya slid into her seat, complimenting the color before the sub could scuttle away.
She smiled sweetly at her, and for the rest of role call she seemed a little more confident.
Niya stretched in her seat, cracking her back and raising her arms over her head. At least she’d gotten a good seat, right next to the window and in front. She tucked herself inwards when a boy slid into the seat behind him and handed him one of her expertly crafted homemade pencils when she noticed him panicking over his pencil case.
He grinned at her and they spent the next twenty minutes working on their entrance and exit ticket together. They chatted and laughed and shared their notes, Niya felt herself relaxing more and more as the class time passed. His name was Io, and Niya found herself wondering why she never bothered getting to know her other classmates when this one was so nice.
She didn’t even notice her shoulder partner until the first part of class ended and they began starting on their business projects. She damn nearly startled out of her seat when ruby red eyes met her own.
“Have you finally decided to stop yammering and get started?” Auristela demanded, sounding awfully impatient for someone who had no right in Niya business.
“I don’t see why me talking to Io is bothering you, we aren’t even disturbing anyone” Niya shot back. Already she was tired of this.
“You must really be brain-dead today” Auristela deadpanned “Can’t you use that head of yours for something useful?”
Niya hated fighting with Auristela, more than anything. Which was unfortunate, because that’s all they ever seemed to be doing these days. She wanted to be angrier, more annoyed, but mostly she was just hurt. It made her ache every time she found herself in a pointless argument that got them absolutely nowhere.
“Can we…not do this today?” Her voice practically came out as a whisper. “I don’t want to fight you Auristela, I never do. You know that.”
Auristale stiffened, face screwed up the way it always was when she was caught off guard. She had expected a blow in return. She didn’t get one.
“I- Well-” Auristela stammered, tripping over her words.
“Yes, Stela?” Niya used her gentlest voice because she wasn’t the same person she was to Auristela all those months ago. She could no longer rub her fingers over her knuckles, could not offer any comfort or affection.
But she could be patient. She could be kind. All she had was her words now, and they would have to do.
Auristela sighed and gave the illusion of relaxing, though Niya could practically feel the tension from her spot at her desk. She looked at Niya, really looked at her this time, their eyes interlocking for a fraction of a second before both of them broke.
“Did you really not hear Mrs. Clara?” Auristela questioned, decidedly no longer looking at her.
“I heard her call my name during role?” Niya responded sheepishly. Auristela turned to her with an exasperated look, it was familiar and she felt her chest tighten a little bit. If she looked hard enough, perhaps she could delude herself into finding a speck of affection beneath Auristela’s expression.
Auristela squinted at her like she was trying to figure out if Niya was being genuine or not. She put on what she hoped was an utterly sincere look, tilting her head a little as if it would help her case.
“We’re partners for this next project” Auristela said softly as she placed a small wooden box on Niya’s desk.
Oh.
Oh this would not go well at all.