Chapter Text
The main hall of Fahirith's Academy was packed full of students. They shouted and laughed as they stumbled over each other to find a seat. Five hundred students scurried around, finding their friends to sit by. Chatter along the lines of "How was your break?" and "Oh my gosh, I've missed you!" filled the air. Everyone seemed happy, save a few who were staring into the seemingly endless sea of bodies.
Salin Omanokor sat back straight, jaw up, as if he'd it done a million times before. The cold metal chair underneath him was uncomfortable, but he didn't seem to notice or move. Hands folded neatly in his lap; he looked like the perfect soldier. His eyes were only slightly glazed over with exhaustion, boredom, and overstimulation. Despite every bit of his appearance being neat and following the dress uniform, the mandatory hat for those in the pre-military programs was sitting on the chair next to him. Occasionally, someone would point at it and say "Hey, is this seat taken?" Salin would look up with an annoyed look, and the others would either mumble apologies under their breath and move on or continue to taunt him until they realized the specific uniform that he was wearing. Either way, the seat was still reserved.
"Heya there, Salin! It's been a while, hasn't it?"
Salin's head lifted and his eyes instantly brightened as he watched his friend half strut, half stumble through the legs in the narrow aisle. When she made it to him, she swept his cap off the reserved seat and unceremoniously pushed it onto his head.
"It sure has," Salin laughed, "How have you been?"
"Good enough, I guess. Darn, man. To be honest, it was boring as hell."
"Don't you have Mr. W- shop to work at?"
"I do, but, " she stared counting out reasons on her fingers, "One, I don't work ALL the time. Two, there's only so many books you can read before going absolutely insane. Third, well... look, I love the old man just as much as the next guy, but you can start to get bored of his... eccentricities pretty fast, you know?"
Salin shrugged. "I guess I don't. He seems like a fine man though."
"He is, he is! Don't get me wrong, he's a great guy! It's just he..."
Salin's face creased with concern. "Is he-"
"Nonononono, absolutely not! He's not doing anything like that! He's just... a lot sometimes. He's lonely. It's pretty dang obvious, and I want to help him out! It's just..."
"Ray, this isn't your responsibility to handle. He has his own issues that he's dealing with. It's not your place to butt in a try to magically heal... whatever's going on. If you need a break, take it. You don't owe that to him."
"But I do! I mean-"
"No, no you don't. Now you're gonna listen to me here, girl-"
"Ooh he's pulling out the accent," she sang in a sing-song tone.
Salin lightly punched her shoulder. "Shut up."
"All that refinement with a proper accent has gotten you real far, huh?"
He snorted quietly into his hand. "No, it's not like that, I swear-"
"Uh-huh, yeah sure."
They smirked at each other. "So what have you been up to, Mr. I'm Too Good For Native Accents Man?"
"Oh my word, Rayhiana. But besides enjoying the break that I've had from you, pretty... bleak. I started studying for classes and took care of Adi."
"Oh yeah! How's she doin'?"
Salin shrugged. "Not any different from last time. Maybe slightly worse. She's holding up fairly well though, under the circumstances."
"Did you find anything that might help?"
"Unfortunately, no. I thought that I had found a lead, but... nothing. Another dead end for me to be disappointed with."
"Salin. I'm sure you'll find something. Between us, I swear we'll find something."
"Well actually, now that I think about it, there was one thing I wanted to research but didn't get the chance."
:"Ooooh, what is it?"
"Well... it was something related to-"
"GOOD EVENING, STUDENTS OF FAHIRITH'S ACADEMY! PLEASE RISE FOR OUR CHIEF HEADMASTER-"
An ear-splitting voice filled the room, addressing the students. There was a series of speeches: some introducing new faculty, others going over the code of conduct, and a few discussing random things that they thought the students would like to know. Most of it was uninteresting- until a new woman stepped onto the stage. She was wearing an expensive, long soft blue dress with black and silver accents. It gave the illusion of a soft femininity which contrasted sharply with her gaunt face and sour expression.
"Good evening, everyone. My name is Dr. Gunnar, a chief examiner in the specialized investigation unit that has been keeping a watchful eye over both your academy and university. I shall not be long, but there are two matters to be briefly discussed. One, a small, manmade cavern was found underneath the specialized sections of the main library. It is relatively new, and whoever made it left without a trace. If anyone knows who is responsible for this, please let me or any other member of our staff know."
Salin leaned over and slightly and whispered in Ray's ear, "Well would you look at that, our most tedious project by far has already been complimented."
Ray glanced back at him with a sadistic little smile.
"Secondly," the doctor continued, "There have been rumors of an Immortal wandering around campus grounds and another stating that one student here became one. Whether or not you believe in this little legend, neither of these allegations are true. Yes, they have worried quite a few people, but I am here to assure you that there is nothing wrong. Thank you.
The room was engulfed in a thunderous applause.
"Alright, aright, students! Please, quiet down!" The announcer waited a moment. "Thank you. Now, I can tell that you are all very tired, and you all are eager to see your friends and prepare for this upcoming year. Now with all that said and done, I wish you a successful school year! You are dismissed!"
Almost instantly, the room was flooded with talking students, and the two large sets of double doors in the back of the hall were packed with moving bodies.
"Whelp. Now I can see why you picked a middle seat. Now we're not going to be trampled to death!"
Salin flashed a snide smile. "You're welcome."
"So... how long do you think we're going to be trapped in here?"
"Until almost everyone comes out, I believe."
"Darn, man. That's gonna be a little while."
"I suppose so."