The halls of the dormitory building clattered as 2 pairs of footsteps sounded through them, cutting through the murky shadows that currently drowned the hallway.
Following behind Guac, Tre had thought about the individual in front of him, currently leading the way to his dorm.
"Hey, Guac. What's your actual name?"
They boy turned his head slightly, reacting to the question without showing his face.
"My name? What, does Guac sound a little silly? Haha, I get it, I got that nick name when I was younger because of my hair. It's Typlhos Mimetes, of the Mimetes family. Everyone calls me Guac, even the professors."
They went up another set of stairs that went around to another floor upwards.
"I see. Do you not have a middle name?"
Guac laughed lightly, making sure to keep quiet while outside the student's rooms.
"No, no. I don't. Middle names are usually ones we choose ourselves. People with middle names usually do so because of an oath they made in their live. Something like what knights do, except a conviction they choose themselves, like an achor for themselves. I'm far too young for such a thing."
'Interesting.. I've never heard of such a thing before. Then again, middle names were always a nobility type of thing. I think. If they are oaths, then what is Eirini's oath?'
"I don't think you're too young for such a thing, Typhlos. Also, I've wanted to ask. What do you think about science?"
Tre came with the young man, not just to help him in his room, but for an ultimately selfish objective. In order to create a machine to get his ki flowing, he needed funds. Eirini wasn't on good terms with her parents, but maybe this kid was.
"Science..? Uhh.. I don't know. I don't know anything about it, other than the fact that no one likes it."
What?
"You don't know anything about it? Also, what do you mean no one likes it? There's a lot of communities that utilise it, you know. Outside this continent, it's.. probably used. This damned country in particular, Greenwall, really dislikes it. Not knowing anything about it at all is absurd though."
Guac trotted up another set of stairs, reaching what is the 5th floor.
"I just haven't cared too much about it, you know what I mean? Ki is just as, if not, more useful than whatever science could ever be."
...
"That's not true."
Guac scratched the back of his head, turning to face Tre, stopping abruptly.
"We're here, this is my room. A94."
Tre turned to see the same wooden door that was plastered all over the lower floors, and on the current floor. It had the numbers "94" etched into it.
"Alright."
Kneeling down, Tre inspected the lock. Inserting his hand into his pocket, he took out what seemed to be a bit of thin, twisted wire and another small piece of brittle iron: small enough to be lodged into the steel lock lodged on the wooden door.
Tre paused for a moment, looking at the lock, then turning his head towards the other doors.
They all had different kind of locks on them. Some had padlocks, and some had no visible lock at all.
"Why do all these doors have different locks?"
A few clicks sounded from the steel lock that Tre was pressuring.
"Ah, no one told you? You have to put the lock on yourself, they supply different locks. You can get a professor to do it if you ask."
...
The clicking sounds continued, and Tre asked,
"Why though?"
Guac scratched his head for a bit, silence lingering in the dark hallway briefly.
"No clue."
The lock made a few more clicks, before finally making a more distinct sound, announcing that it had finally opened.
Standing up, Tre turned his head, facing the green haired by, partially dyed black by the shadows of the night, with streaks of moonlight shining through the window, hitting his head in various spots.
"It's done. Don't get locked out again, and seriously don't climb the building again. Ah, before I forget, are you in a club?"
Guac's satisfied look slightly morphed into a bit of surprise.
"Yeah? I'm in the ki training club. I recommend you join, it's pretty useful. We might be able to teach you how to control ki, you know."
Tre looked deadpan, before continuing.
"Early in the morning tomorrow, come to the science club, and leave the club you're in. I'll be waiting."
Tre started walking off towards the stairs, leaving the young man in the hallway, dumbfounded.
"..What..? Wait, what do you mean leave my club? Do you want me to join the science club? Tre!?"
Without looking back, Tre answered.
"It's your choice to make. If you wish to do something different, and see the world for how it is, come to the science club. I don't want to tell you here."
'These nobles are so sheltered they hardly know anything about the world, and the state it's in. Or maybe it's like that purposely. No, I'm certain that it is.'
Tre was still hesitant to accept any noble as an ally, let alone a comrade. He only accepted Eirini because the risk she took to draw out any followers of science in the heart of a country that despises it. The fact she was still alive and in school was a miracle. Taking on a sheltered noble was something he didn't want to do, nor did he plan to. Although..
'That kid didn't seem like a bad person..'
Tre closed his eyes, steadying his resolve.
'It doesn't matter.. he's one of them. He'll die eventually. They all will.'
Tre walked theough the campus, enshrouded in the cloak of night, admiring the moon. The pitch black canvas, only impeded by the small dots that signify a burning star.
'It still looks just like it did, all the way back then. In this changing world, only the skies remember.'
Tre closed his eyes, not bothered by the icy air brushing across his skin.
"I better head back. I have things to do tomorrow."
Heading back to his dorm, Tre readied himself for his first day of classes tomorrow, knowing full well about his reputation that he purposely let fall into the dirt.
'It should be fine. It's just a bunch of snotty kids, what could they even do..'
Tre stopped himself, remembering that those same snotty kids could most probably easily punch holes through brick walls.
'Ugh.. ki wasn't so prevalent out there. A dime a dozen. Though, those who did have it were much more potent than even the best kids here. Still a pain in the neck though..'
Tre opened the dormitory door, feeling a bit annoyed that he had to cut his walk short.
'It can't be helped. I've got to get ready for that kid to join us tomorrow.'
After he entered his room with nothing but a bed beside a window, he fell into bed, amd his eyes shut.
***
As morning came, the sun illuminated the vibrant green leaves of trees that rooted themselves deep within the cobble floor of the campus. The window of Tre's room got invaded by a bright light, forcing his eyes open.
Tre sat up, noticing a wet liquid falling from his mouth.
...
Wiping the red viscous liquid dripping from his mouth, he suppressed the burning pain in his chest, and walked over to the window, glaring at the early clatter of teens going about their business, early in the morning. Chatting away, eating, drinking a morning brew.
He shut his eyes, turning away.
'I better get ready, I suppose.'