Elijah leaned back on the couch, staring at the ceiling. "You know," he said, his voice muffled by exhaustion, "If I ever make it out of this academy alive, I'm going to open a bakery."
Kieran snorted from the armchair. "A bakery? You? Do you even know how to bake?"
"No," Elijah replied flatly, "But it sounds peaceful. No swords, no yelling instructors, just bread."
Visconti, lounging sideways on another couch, raised an eyebrow. "I'd give that bakery three days before it burns down."
Elijah turned his head to glare at him. "You're supposed to support your teammate, not crush his dreams."
Visconti shrugged, smirking. "I'm just being realistic. I mean, I'd still buy something, though. Probably for the experience of seeing you in an apron."
Kieran burst out laughing, nearly falling out of his chair. "Oh, I can see it now. Elijah, the deadly swordsman, reduced to kneading dough. You'd scare all the customers off!"
Elijah rolled his eyes. "At least I have ambitions. What are you going to do after this? Become a traveling spear salesman?"
Kieran grinned. "I'd make a killing, pun intended. Imagine me, walking into town, twirling a spear, saying, 'Get your premium spears here, guaranteed to pierce through anything!'"
"Or anyone," Visconti muttered under his breath.
Kieran pointed at him. "See? That's exactly the kind of marketing I need. Visconti, you'd be my hype man."
"Pass," Visconti replied immediately, flipping through a book he'd randomly picked up from the table. "I'll be too busy writing my memoir about how I survived being paired with you two."
"Memoir?" Elijah said, sitting up slightly. "You'd have to exaggerate half of it to make it interesting."
"Excuse me," Visconti said, feigning offense, "I think my dry wit and intellect are more than enough to carry a bestseller."
Kieran leaned forward, grinning. "What would you even title it? 'How to Deal with Idiots: A Survival Guide'?"
Visconti looked thoughtful. "Not bad, but I was thinking more along the lines of 'The Tragic Tale of a Genius Surrounded by Buffoons.'"
Elijah smirked. "Buffoons, huh? Bold words for someone who tripped over his own rapier last week."
Visconti immediately flushed. "That was one time! And the floor was uneven!"
"Sure," Kieran said, barely containing his laughter. "Keep telling yourself that."
Elijah leaned back again, his earlier exhaustion forgotten. "You know, for all the chaos, I think this dorm would be too quiet without you two."
"Aww," Kieran teased, clutching his chest. "Is that your way of saying you'd miss us?"
Elijah groaned. "Don't push it."
Visconti smirked, setting his book down. "I'll make sure to write that in my memoir. 'Even Elijah admitted he couldn't live without us.'"
"Someone save me," Elijah muttered, grabbing a cushion and tossing it at Visconti, who dodged effortlessly, laughing.
The dorm grew quieter as Kieran leaned back, stretching his arms lazily over his head. "So, real talk, what would you guys have been if Espers and powers weren't a thing? Like, no fighting, no training, no crazy instructors yelling at us 24/7."
Visconti raised an eyebrow. "What kind of random question is that?"
"Just answer it," Kieran said, smirking. "I mean, come on. You've thought about it, haven't you?"
Visconti scoffed, but his expression softened. "I'd probably be... I don't know, some kind of scholar. Traveling the world, digging into ancient mysteries, writing about stuff no one cares about." Visconti paused. "I'd probably in some high tower, surrounded by books, sipping tea while deciphering ancient texts. People would come from miles away just to hear my genius insights."
"Modest as always," Kieran teased, grinning. "But seriously, I can see that. You'd probably write some groundbreaking theory and then spend the rest of your life arguing with other scholars about how they're wrong."
"Exactly," Visconti said, with no shame whatsoever. "Now, what about you, Kieran? Let me guess, a professional troublemaker?"
Kieran laughed. "Close. I'd probably be… I don't know, something exciting. Maybe a stuntman. Jumping off cliffs, crashing through windows. Living life on the edge."
Elijah raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that what you're already doing? Just with more weapons involved?"
"Fair point," Kieran admitted, grinning.
"Oh..." Kieran grinned broadly. "Or... I could be a fisherman."
Visconti blinked. "A fisherman? You? The guy who can't sit still for five minutes?"
Kieran shrugged. "Why not? No one bothers you out on the water. Just you, the fish, and endless peace."
Elijah chuckled softly, shaking his head. "You'd scare all the fish away with your yelling."
"Hey!" Kieran protested, though he was laughing. "What about you, Elijah? What would you have done?"
Elijah leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, his expression unusually calm. "I think I'd live somewhere quiet. Maybe the countryside, way up on a hill."
Kieran tilted his head. "A hill, huh?"
Elijah nodded, his voice soft and thoughtful. "Yeah. A place where I can see everything. A dog in the yard, trees in the fields, and water nearby. It'd be... peaceful. The prettiest scene."
Visconti, watching him closely, furrowed his brows. "You've really thought about this, haven't you?"
Elijah shrugged, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "Maybe. I'd want white picket fences, or maybe soft green ones. Something simple. Quiet. Away from all of this."
"A place where you could breathe without always looking over your shoulder."
He smiled faintly, almost to himself. "I'd wake up early, before the world gets busy, and just sit there. Watching the sunrise. Listening to the birds. No powers, no fighting, no chaos. Just… life as it should be."
There was a moment of silence as his words hung in the air. Even Kieran, usually quick with a joke, seemed uncharacteristically subdued.
"That's... surprisingly poetic," Kieran said after a beat, scratching the back of his neck. "Didn't think you had that in you, Elijah."
Elijah chuckled softly but didn't respond, his gaze distant, as if he could already see that peaceful hillside in his mind.
Visconti, however, kept his eyes on Elijah, a strange weight settling in his chest. "Sounds nice," he said quietly, though his tone was careful. "But you're not going anywhere anytime soon, Elijah."
Elijah blinked, snapping out of his thoughts, and gave Visconti a lopsided smile. "Of course not. You two would be lost without me."