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It was dark.
Very dark.
Some say that once night hits, the stars and moon will show you the way, glimmering in their own unique way, shimmering up in the sky and laughing in a happy manner!
Once, that was also for Kiri so.
He would sneak out of his home or his dorm to get to the highest point in their town. A giant hill that raised above the trees and buildings that needed some climbing, sure-
But the view of the hundreds of stars was beautiful. They greeted him with the light they shone from above and on one specific day, the Moon would be perfectly in the middle of it all, creating the most beautiful image in the world.
It would never be able to truly be captured in a photo.
….
But depending on your view of the world, this can change.
Kiri sure thinks so.
At some point in his life, he noticed how much of an unimportant feckless the stars truly were. Exploding one by one for no reason, giving others the satisfaction of laughing over a failed life.
The moon was just another rock in the planet, doomed to sway forever in a route just so that other people could claim it was useless.
At some point in his life, the star sky on top of the hill was just another bitter reminder that this was all worthless.
Yet.
The Carrot kept coming back to it. Who knows why. Perhaps Nostalgia. Perhaps it kept him from absolutely slipping over the edge over these years.
Even today when all these thoughts responded, he sat on top of that very hill, watching the stars with that rotted school uniform that stuck to his skin like a tumor.
He did take off the blue cape by undoing the purple knot and unbuttoned the blue vest of his uniform. It was so tight today.
It was near winter and it still felt hot.
The grass below felt softer once, he knew. It had gotten hard and unloving, ironically just like everything else that he got into view.
Kiri couldn't help but stare up at that bleak sky again, the dying stars twinkling as they might have been dead already, just like everything else.
Hm.
…..Hmpfh.
God, this was a waste of time.
He had studies to do. He had homework that he needed to get finished by Friday, even if it's only Monday. He had to make potions recipes and explore other plants to get more knowledge.
He needed to do so much and he's staring at something that wasn't even important to him anymore.
Useless, USELESSUSLESS-
THUMPThumpthump-
…Huh?
Kiri snapped his gaze around, almost immediately going on guard as he stood up and checked his surroundings, noticing some faint red light.
He- He made sure none of the other interns and students could follow him here, did they bring fireworks again? Shit, SH-
“GET BACK HERE!”
Clangclangclangclang-
Wait. Those were…Guards.
What was going on?
Guards usually aren't near the college at all, why…
With the curiosity of a cat, he ran forward and slid down the mountain, having done this various times before and mastering the technique to perfection.
And that's when he saw one specific thing-
A weird person in a black cloak, looking almost like a cult member.
They seemed to be holding something in their grasp, a book of some sorts that-
They stared at him.
Both of their gazes locked onto each other for a moment. It was almost dead silent as the nano-second passed without a thought and-
BANG-!
….
THE CULT MEMBER HIT A TREE-
A cough left the man’s mouth as he fell backwards, having accidentally lost the book too and letting it hit the grass many meters away, just being there and-
“GET THEM, COME ON-!”
OH YEAH-
Kiri spun his pupils over to the Guards who ran past him, already going to the closed man and getting out the handcuffs…only one stopping for him.
“Ah- Are you alright?”
The Guards voice was careful and soft, kneeling down to his level and even offering a hand to check if the weird person inflicted any Injuries-
But nothing had been there.
“No, it's…fine, Sir. Everything is alright.”
Kiri wasn’t the type to mess with the guards, principles or anything that's anything higher of a status then his usual student rank.
He was not gonna risk being associated with some random person that just hit right into a tree.
“Alright, Good. Please report to us when you see any kind of people with these kinds of robes.”
And without any explanation given to the carrot, the guard moved over to the handcuffed person, hearing mumbles of prayers that would be left unchecked.
He wondered ever so silently who they believed in.
“Come on. Get moving.”
“Stay safe, Kid.”
The Guards moved by as the cult member grumbled to themselves, seeming to wear mostly red and black, only diminished by a purple scarf.
Perhaps a specific role?
Hm.
But finally, the broccoli's went beneath the trees, nowhere to be seen as Kiri was left to his own thoughts and decisions yet again.
He should probably leave.
….
….He. should leave.
But curiosity was a thing that brought every single creature's brain into an addiction, bringing them closer to their demise or perhaps to a higher level of happiness.
The student decided that he wanted to let it get to him.
With the slow crickets and chirping in the background from the birds, Kiri walked forward. His steps were silent in the grass, only the slightest breeze bringing a shiver through him.
Autumn. As always.
The leaves crunched beneath his feet, but the book that the cult member had lost was still in the grass…not a single scratch on it.
A purely black book, riddled with mostly red lines but weirdly also symbols on every corner with different colours.
Huh.
No real name too. Nothing written on it.
Well, the person will definitely not come back for it in jail, so…there wouldn't be much problem if he took it with him at the moment, would it?
There might be some more info he could need in school, especially with all these stupid exams that have been piling up over and over again-
So be it.
Dry hands grabbed onto the hard book cover, picking it up as it definitely carried some weight- Perhaps even…a kind of aura.
Weird.
He quietly ran back up the hill, picking up his cape again and buttoning up his shirt as he grabbed a bag he brought along with him.
It was mostly meant to be for studying at night or perhaps to test art theory with his teacher Farbian- But he had enough for today.
A last sigh left his throat as he finally put the book in, grabbing his bag, wrapping it around his shoulder and sliding down the mountain with relative ease.
The walk to the Celestial highschool wasn't long, simply taking a few minutes from here that Kiri knew in and out…but students usually shouldn't go out at such times.
Of course it wasn't forbidden, but Crista…The star teacher that taught history, REALLY had a dislike for him somehow.
Always a failure, he said. Kiri despised of.
He shook his head. Didn't matter.
Just needed to get back to his dorm before anything happened.
It's fine. Not a single teacher can put anything on him anyway. Like Kiri said, completely alright, just gets some teachers annoyed or concerned.
Carefully, the back door was opened. It was extremely dark in the school usually filled up with hundreds of students ready to tackle the day.
Or mope around. Or bully. Or study. Or cry. Or do literally anything else other than be productive like him, like having friends and-
No.
No, he didn't need that.
Kiri decided to ignore his thoughts for now as he went across the blue-tainted walls, peeking outside the window and watching the stars every now and then.
They glinted with no true meaning.
Nothing glinted with meaning. The moon was so egotistical that it stayed up in the sky, not giving light through the window and-
“KIRI!”
Oh crap.
The Carrot's gaze shot up to the teacher that he just mentioned.
Crista. The Star history teacher.
A yellow star with your usual teacher glasses, a counselor robe…and something like legs that were crystalized shards or something.
His arms and hands weren't together at all. They were like spheres floating around, never connecting to-
“What are you even doing up at this hour-? Are you not considering you're bothering others with the noise you're making?”
Shutupshutup
A silent shrug is the only motion that left him, feeling rather unmotivated to actually respond to the teacher or do anything that might strengthen his ego.
The other just grumbled, shaking his head in a disapproving way. Never satisfied with the answer, never satisfied with anything but his stupid own self that isn't even-
“God. Just go to your dorm, you already steal my nerves enough.”
Not like he was literally planning to BEFORE YOU CAME-
Kiri simply walked past as fast as possible, keeping his bag close. Crista only looked back once, squinting his eyes and pleasedontmentionit-
….
One small grumble made the star finally leave the hallway.
FINALLY.
Now there are no more distractions for him to finally get to his dorm-
A heavy sigh left him as his footsteps echoed throughout the building, filling the silence almost completely beside some very loud snores and the breeze that went through slightly open windows.
It was as empty as his heart felt. Nothing in there anymore that was worth searching for when looking for a friend.
Not like he would get any by how much he pushed people away-
God, he's thinking too much today. Just open your door and get it over with, you're already pitying yourself enough.
The door gently clicked open as he turned his key, unlocking it and finally entering his space of solitude that kept everyone that he didn't like away.
Especially Ackee. Lemini was near that limit.
The room…was a mess.
There were papers and books everywhere, clothes being thrown around without a care, empty noodle cups and 5-minute meals on the table mixed with a closed laptop and the endless carelessness of his own neglect.
What he deserved. So lazy.
Kiri for once couldn't care less as he tucked his clothes off, unbuttoning his uniform and putting everything away as he slipped on his pajamas.
Mpfh. Cold. Still cold.
The bag was carelessly thrown into the corner for later, while the carrot decided that today he wasn't gonna puke his brain out.
A sigh left his throat as he slumped into bed, pulling the blanket over his tired body as he contemplated his role in life.
Just…be someone.
Be anyone.
Be special.
Be worthy of attention and need.
A glance back to the bag was made, but it just wasn't worth it anymore today.
….Tomorrow.
Tomorrow he could check the book out.
In the morning, he could learn and finally do something for his grade.
Be useful.
…
And perhaps, be appreciated.
But he knows that's a lie.
It's all.
A lie.