Draeyer Academy
Drae Skyland
Northeastern Space
Alec yawned as he watched his homeroom classmates standing and leaving out the door. Professor Meolie stood behind her desk, preparing her things for her next class. Alec stood up as well, when only a handful stayed in the room. As he walked down the steps from his seat, Meolie called his attention.
"Alec, can I talk to you?" she said. The other students present looked to her direction, before they each hurried in collecting their things and rushed out the door. A few moments later, he stood in front of her desk, with only them both in the room.
"What can I help you with, Professor?" he said, with his head tilted to the side. Meolie smiled at him, as she shook her head. A sigh escaped her lips as she settled into her brown leather chair.
"The two idiots, the people that brought you here, as well as the headmaster informed me of your reason for being here," she said. Alec sighed, somehow expecting that they would inform his homeroom teacher.
"Is there something about it?" he said, as he looked down at the floor.
"Nothing wrong at all," she said. She stood up, and rounded her table to stand in front of him. "I'm here to tell you that if you ever need help, especially if it's about Kreis and Gael, don't be afraid to approach and I'll see what I can do." She reached up a hand and patted him on the shoulder.
"Keep in mind that you're in Draeyer Academy," she said with a smile. "This place was built to teach the youth their responsibilities as Draeyers to the realm. But it was also created, for you guys to have fun, and to form bonds that would last for many long years." With that, Alec found himself smiling as he watched his teacher walking back to her seat. He sighed, and bowed to her, before heading out the door.
Morning classes passed by and he soon sat eating his lunch in the cafeteria. Half of his attention focused on the food while the other listened to the twins' incessant bickering, which contributed much to the twitching of his right brow.
"Do you really have to eat that many cakes and chocolates for your every dessert?" Solana said. Her nose crinkled as she stared at the two trays brimming with sweets lying in front of her brother. Knox slid one tray closer to him, as he grabbed a fork from his empty plate.
"Are we going to have this conversation again, vegetable freak?" he said, as he dug into a chocolate drizzled cake. Alec looked down at Solana's own plate, and once again saw her half-eaten meal of vegetables and a saucer of an apple cut into bite-sized cubes.
"I'm trying to lead you into a healthier and longer life," Solana said. Knox gulped down his food before he spoke with crumbs falling down the side of his lips.
"We're twins but we still have our own lives to deal with," he said. "This is what makes me healthy, the same way fruits and vegetables do to you."
"What I'm eating is still healthier than yours!" Solana said. The students nearby fixed their attention toward their table, but only Alec noticed, causing him to mentally roll his eyes at the unwanted attention.
"At least, I'm not too lazy to run laps and exercise, while you sleep around wherever you get comfortable in," Knox said.
"Stop it you two, I'm eating here!" Alec said. "Please give me some peace and quiet." The twins glared at each other before they broke their gaze with angered huffs. Alec thanked the Almighty Kosmos that the two finally stopped squabbling. At last, he finished his meal. He looked down when Solana slid a piece of thick paper over to his side of the table.
"What is this?" he said.
"I forgot to give you that yesterday," she said, before finishing up her last apple cube. "It's the," she swallowed, "schedule every sixth day of the week. It is the last school day each week before our breaks on the seventh day, and first of the following week."
"The only thing switched up in your schedule was Draeology, Combat, and Weaponry class. The last two subjects come first, while Draeology is moved back," Knox said. "It's done to shake things up before the weekbreaks come. You know, to avoid losing the students' attention on the lessons." Alec nodded as he sighed.
"The sad part about that is only Knox is with you in the next class. They switched up all of my classes," Solana said as her bottom lip jutted out.
"What's the sad part about that?" Alec said, with a smirk on his face. Knox let out a laugh, before he choked on his cake, and grabbed the glass of water to his right. He sighed after gulping down the water, before he continued to laugh. Solana glared at them both, before she slapped her brother's arm, and kicked Alec's leg under the table. They both winced at the impact.
"Go ahead and keep laughing!" she stood from her seat, and stalked away from them both. After watching her back disappear behind the cafeteria doors, he whirled his head back to Knox. His mouth fell open at the sight of empty plates on two large trays. He trailed his gaze up to the older twin and, and arched one brow at him.
"What just happened?" he said. Knox shook his head with a small smile on his face. He too stood from his chair, and spoke.
"Weaponry and Combat classes are held by the lake. We should get going so we can change into our Combat attires."
Alec stood and followed after him, as he went ahead. They passed the students who still sat and ate, before they exited out the door. They swerved left and passed by the lounge and the entrance, before entering through a small black door to their left. Once inside, a crowed of boys around his age greeted him. They ran around the room, going from one cubicle to the other as they each carried a roll of clothes.
"Follow me," Knox said before he disappeared inside into a corner where metal shelve compartments leaned on the wall. "You can place your things over here," Knox said as he opened a compartment next to his own. He threw his satchel in and got the roll of clothes from inside. Alec did the same, and pulled out his own Combat attire from the box, and closed the small door, before heading over to a stall and changed.
―――
Walking down the hallways, Alec fell into step with the silent Knox. Silence, he thought. Something he'd been longing to have since lunch began.
They reached the lobby, and exited through the large doors as he tugged on the grey shirt clinging to his torso, and ran a hand over the Academy's seal stitched on the left part of his chest. He looked down at the rest of his clothes, and felt relieved that his loose trousers were to his liking, and his boots was one he used to hunt in Arktis. They turned left and threaded down a path, as the afternoon sun beat down on their heads.
"This shirt is too tight for my liking," he said. A grumble escaped his throat while Knox laughed at the frown etched on his face.
"You look good actually," Knox said as he knocked on his arm. "It emphasizes all your muscles, which obviously already has a lot girls swooning."
Chatters of the other students filled the air as they joined them down the cobblestone. And true to Knox's words, when he looked, he resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the attention given to him.
When they emerged from under the canopies, the glistening lake caught his eye. The light reflecting from the lake caused him to squint, as it blinded him for a moment. Shortly after, he and Knox stood under a large tree, next to the lake as they watched their classmates interacting with each other, and their Draelings.
Alec looked up from his spot and met with dark blue eyes from across the clearing. His fists clenched as he matched its owners narrowed gaze.
"I see that you and Areisha hit it off badly," Knox said as his lips pulled back into smirk. Alec huffed out an air of annoyance as he slumped down on a root with his back on the tree trunk.
"She's the reason for it," he said, as he stared down at the grass. He heard his suppressed laugher, and he stopped himself from tossing the boy into the lake. The laughter ceased soon after when a gruff voice cut through the lively chatters in the air.
"I hope you cowards weren't lazing around while I was away."
Alec stood from his position, as silence fell over their class. He looked up, and his gaze roamed over their professor.
A big burly man, about a head taller than him, stood before them as his brown-orange eyes ran over each student moving forward. Alec's eyes widened when he realized that the man only had his right arm. As quick as his shock came, it disappeared. He followed Knox as they gathered around their teacher.
"That's Professor Gravis," Knox said. "You do not want to get on his bad side." Alec trailed his gaze back to the man, and his brother's words echoed in his mind.
"Never underestimate anyone by how they look," he said. "Bear in mind that behind every face, a deep side to that person is hidden to everyone else."
Seeing that the Academy still allows him to teach even with a missing limb, is saying something of his capability. And Alec being himself couldn't help but try to run his gaze discretely up and down the man's frame.
"I see we have new face among us," Professor Gravis said. Alec's gaze snapped up to meet his, and his hands found their way out of his pockets. "Come here, kid, and let me take a look at you."
Knox pushed him forward, and he turned his head to glare at his friend, before walking to the front, where Gravis stood. Once there, the professor looked him up and down.
"So, you're Alec Arden?" he said. Alec met his cold gaze, with his own icy blue eyes, as he continued to gaze down at him.
"Yes, sir," he said.
"You don't look like how I imagined you to be," he said.
"What do you mean, professor?"
"Well, for starters, I never expected that you'd look like runt who just finished drinking his mother's milk," he said. The silence thickened in the air, before his classmates burst out laughing. Alec wasn't aware of it, but his hands clenched as he placed them inside his pockets.
"Second, you look weak, so I wonder why the Head Ryder of the 1st Regiment, would even bother writing a recommendation for your entrance to this academy, and excused you from taking the physical examination." This time, gasps and whispers filled the air, as his classmates looked at him with widened eyes.
To his surprise, a large fist landed on his torso, and he stumbled back, clutching his stomach as he bit his tongue to prevent a sound from escaping his lips.
"Tch..." Gravis clucked his tongue. "You can't even dodge and take in one of my weak punches. Whoever taught you how to fight, assuming you can, must have neglected teaching you how to dodge and improve your reflexes."
"My brother has taught me well," Alec said, as he straightened.
"Your brother, you say?" the burly professor said. As quick as lighting, he appeared in front of Alec, with a raised fist. "Looking at you, I'm guessing you're brother is pathetic."
In the next moment, Alec flew through the air as the pain on his abdomen registered in his mind. He landed on the ground, and his body rolled to the edge of the lake. As he fell into the clear blue water, his vision dimmed and his nails dug into the skin of his palm as he recalled Gravis' words.
"...I'm guessing you're brother is pathetic."
In the same moment, he heard the shrill roars which came from his classmate's Draelings.