The group walked into the dingy lounge, slamming the old door behind them. It was pitch dark, and they stood awkwardly at the precipice while Cantia ran in and managed to relight some of the old lamps that hung lazily from the ceiling. They didn't provide a lot of light, but it was enough to find safe places to collapse. Safe from the moon, they all slumped onto tables and into old metal seats, sighing heavily into the stuffy air of the old building.
Before things could get too depressing though, Vincent snapped into action, quickly moving to his feet and clearing his throat. "I know that was stressful for everyone. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't shaken right now. But we're safe now. The army's on those walls, and nothing's getting past. I say we have a little toast to celebrate our first taste of combat, if it was our first taste." Lucius feel Vincent's eyes bore into him, but the stare did not feel hostile.
Albert walked to the back of the room, and pulled on an old wooden floor board. Lucius couldn't see how big the stash was in the dim lighting, but it seemed like the hole they had dug under it was pretty substantial. Albert emerged with a glass jug, at least four liters in size, full of a light brown fluid. "I don't know about you all" he said, "But I'm not digging through my things for a cup right now." He turned the jug over into his mouth, his arm shaking under it's weight.
After a long pull, he wiped his mouth and passed it around. Never wanting to be left out, Lucius did his part, and took a pretty large swing himself. He instantly regretted it; this wasn't some wine from the fields around Salvation; this was so strong you could burn it in a lamp. He tried to hold back, but started coughing and pounding at the burning feeling in his chest.
Albert laughed. "A man after my own heart. You know Vincent, we've never introduced him to the other four. Probably made things a little awkward for him." Vincent nodded. "I was going to, of course, but fate intervened. Now that we're lubricated, let's make sure we all know who we're talking to."
'I'll start." A slender man with an unruly mob of blond hair raised his arm lazily above his head. "I'm Cory, and I'm three years deep here. I'm going to specialize in fortification." The girl to Cory's right spoke up next. She shifted on her seat, short and stocky, her long black hair falling over her face. "I'm Portia, two years in, and ten swigs deep." Cory shot her an annoyed look. "Really intelligent Portia. Great work." Portia rolled her eyes and swept her hair out of her eyes. "Screw you, I've had a hell of day, and I'll say what I feel like right now."
Vincent coughed. "Hey guys, can we not start on this right now? We're all really stressed, and bickering over something as simple as an introduction is pretty petty." Both were about to speak up in protest, when a much quieter voice emerged from the other end of the room. 'Uh hi, I'm Helena. I'm sorry but I don't know your name yet. When did you arrive?"
Lucius pondered for a second. It has been a long day and he had lost track of time. "Hmm, about 2 I think, maybe 3. Name's Lucius by the way, I'm on my second year of academy, and I'm transferring from the Grand Academy in Salvation." "You just got in today?" Helena gasped. "How are you even standing right now?" "More importantly", a new voice spoke. "I can't believe your from the Grand Academy. Name's Peter. What are you doing all the way out here."
Lucius sighed. "We're kind of like sword brothers now, so I'll give you the short version." "Can someone pass me the booze?" Lucius was already dizzy and disoriented, and his body responded slowly and lazily to his internal commands. He took another huge chug, this one burning far less than the first. Some of it spilled down his chin and onto his tunic, and he set the bottle down, arm trembling.
"I was selected from my provincial school to join the Emerald Legion, and after one year in the Grand Academy, I applied to transfer here. And here I am." There was a moment of silence, broken by Cantia's excited voice. "We need more information than that! You were crazy out there. I felt this insanely strong intent of determination, and I was looking at the Imperial soldiers to see who was projecting it, but after a while, I realized it was you."
Vincent nodded. "Your wavecasting is really, really strong. I felt like panicking when those huge monsters came out of the woods, but your intent overpowered theirs and kept me calm." Alberted grunted in agreement. "And it was weird, in the dark out there, I could have sworn your hair looked pale, almost silver. Must have been a trick of the moonlight, but still, it was cool."
Lucius felt a pang of anxiety and sadness, his thoughts jumbled and strange in his exhausted and intoxicated state. He did not like drawing on that energy, and if his hair was losing that much color, he definitely must have been. "I think you all mistook someone else's mental energy for mine. I was just as terrified as all of you. Can we talk about my past some other time? I'm not in a great way right now."
'Yeah" Cory agreed, alcohol amplifying his enthusiasm. "This guy just traveled across the empire and fought a bunch of lanky shadow bastards and now we're going to berate him with questions?" Lucius expected another awkward pause in the conversation, as the extreme chastisement tempered their thoughts, but Albert quickly spoke up.
"If our new friend wants to learn about us, let's tell him some stories, let him know what he's getting into." His eyes turned to Lucius. "What do you say, bud? Story time?" Lucius laughed. "Go ahead, I'd much prefer that to getting interrogated." As Lucius listened to all of their weird adventures and wild stories, his heart lifted a little. These people were definitely more fun and welcoming than the cadets he had lived and worked with back home.
As time went on, things got more and more blurry for Lucius, and full tales turned into short blurbs of slurred words as he felt himself slip in and out of reality. He slumped lower and lower into his chair, the world spinning around him. He had pushed his body and mind to their absolute limit, and his physical form was beginning to rebel against him. Eventually, the voices faded completely, and he slipped into a deep and dreamless sleep.