"Grian." The second Watcher from my house said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "You are to go to the apprentice quarters and settle there. Everything you will need shall be there." He said, gesturing to the doors. I squinted towards them, seeing little scrawl on a sign hanging in the hall. "Aquinnteral, lead him to his quarters and tell him the basic things he needs to know." Another Watcher nodded, standing up. I hesitantly followed him, uncomfortable with the amount of eyes following me.
I released a breath as I walked out of the room, closely trailing the Watcher. We twisted and turned through the halls. Our footsteps softly sounded in the Facility, rhythmic patterns filling the silence. I looked at the walls, watching it change every five blocks. Endstone. Window. Endstone. Window.
At one point, the other Watcher whose name was supposedly Aquinnteral, pushed open a door. It led outside to a courtyard type of area. I felt the air change. It was thicker than Overworld air, making me put a little more effort in breathing.
I looked into the distance that was the void. Swirly purple in the End, black in the Overworld, and red-black in the Nether. If, in the End, it was stared at for long, it started to mess with your head.
I kept my eyes on the floor, not wanting to get a headache.
Aquinnteral pushed another door open, leading me back through another set of halls. By this point, we have been walking for about ten minutes. My feet had started to hurt, making me deal with a dull ache on the bottom of my feet.
It's been probably two minutes after complaining about my feet.
Every moment before this had been in silence (bar the footsteps). And I don't like silence.
I like hearing the sound of blocks being placed on top of each other. I like hearing rockets fire as players fly by. I like the sound of pistons extending and retracting. I like when droppers and dispensers click, thrusting the object out.
But we aren't in that server anymore, aren't we?
We turned through more halls, and finally up one flight of stairs. Aquinnteral and I eventually got to a door labeled 'Apprentice Quarters' in fancy cursive. He turned to me, arms crossed.
"Now, I was supposed to tell you some things." He said, rolling his eyes. "I decided to wait until now so I don't have to waste energy trying to talk and walk." I blinked, surprised. I didn't expect him to be this straightforward. I stayed silent, not wanting to interrupt him.
"First of all, just call me Quinn outside of classes. My full name is stupid." He said. "Do not worry, the walk to your quarters and the other rooms will not take that long, as there is a different way. Once you get accustomed to the Facility, we will show you." Said Quinn.
"I'm supposed to give you a name. We call them Watcher Names. They are never and will never be the same. Similar, maybe, but not the same." He leaned against the wall, a blank expression donning his face.
"So I have to use it? Why can't I just use my normal name?" I asked. I don't think anyone's name is grain misspelled. He shrugged in response.
"I don't know. I use my Watcher Name because I've forgotten my first name. Everyone who's a professor has forgotten." I raise an eyebrow. For some reason, I don't believe him. Quinn sighed, shaking his head.
"You can ask anyone here, though I won't guarantee a nice response. Here, if you use anything other than your Watcher Name, you will get punished." He continued, fixing me with a hard look. His voice changed at the end, sounding more threatening. I gulped, looking away. He pushed his blond hair out of his face, only for it to fall back again.
"Anyway," He started again in his normal and indifferent voice. "You will learn more of the... reinforced rules in your first class." He turned to the door and yanked it open. Inside, there were more doors. This time, they were all wooden, as was this entire part of the Facility. He gently yet forcefully pushed me inside.
"Good luck for the next six years... Xelqua." Quinn said, the heavy doors falling close with a loud bang. Xelqua... I'm not so sure if I like that name. As I started to walk, the first door started to glow white. I stopped, watching with interest. A slow carving of lines started in the center of the door, then expanded outwards with a purple shimmer. After a few moments, the door as a whole stopped glowing.
Engraved in it was my Watcher name. Xelqua.
Exhaling, I pushed the door open. It was a ten-by-twenty block room. There were two beds. I guess I would have a roommate of some sort. The walls were made of dark oak and spruce wood, but still held that eerie End feeling. The room was decorated with simple furniture. Books on a bookshelf, desk with a light, light switch to turn the ceiling lights on, bed I mentioned earlier, closet, small storage area... the normal bedroom/personal quarters necessities.
I just noticed how I didn't have any of my previous belongings. My eyes widened.
I quickly patted my chest, looking for the ring that hung under my sweatshirt. I sighed in relief as I felt the piece of jewelry. I looked at my own, reminding myself of how life used to me.
I don't think it's possible for me to forget my name, or Mumbo's. It's engraved on the rings. All I have to do is keep it with me at all times.
I shook my head, trying to forget the fear of losing the one thing that I had left of my previous home, my previous life, and Mumbo.
I pulled a book off the shelf and flipped it open. It was apparently the lessons we would be learning as Watchers.
On the inside cover was the Standard Galactic Alphabet. I noticed how the symbols directly matched with English characters, but the pronunciations were different. As I flipped through the pages, the English started to become Galactic. By the end of the book, it was all Galactic.
Reflecting back, I do recall someone talking to me in a different language. I'm almost one-hundred percent sure that it was Galactic. The pronunciations seemed familiar. It was like it was on the tip of my tongue, and yet, I couldn't speak it.
Sighing and shaking my head, I flipped back to the first couple pages. I sat on the edge of my bed (I don't want to get the sheets dirty), leaning against the wall the bed was pressed against.
I started to read. If I don't have anything to do, might as well start looking at the things we will learn in the next six years.
~¤☆¤~
"I like your eyes." I heard a quiet and younger voice say while I was reading. I looked up from my book and saw another person in front of me, seemingly examining every little detail of my appearance. He must have only been sixteen years old, maybe seventeen. He held a few robes, similar to the other Watchers.
I guess I didn't hear him come in. Looking over to his bed, I saw a set like the one he was holding sitting neatly folded on the sheets. Directing my eyes back to him, I gave a slight nod.
"Uh, thank you?" I say, then wondering why I said it like a question. He nodded, shifting his weight to the other foot. He maintained eye contact, not even blinking. It honestly slightly scared me. Like everyone here, the person in front of me had a few scars on his body. I saw a few on his arms and face, but not as noticeable. They were probably from a long time ago and healed.
He finally took his ebony black eyes off me, turning them to the floor. He held the robes out for me to grab with shaky arms.
"They told me to give these to you." He shortly said. I took them with a nod, setting them on top of my chest. I'll organize them later.
"I'm also your, uh, roommate, I guess." He said, running a hand through his hair. I closed my book and set it aside, giving my full attention to him. I gently smiled as the nervous child (though he must have only been at most three years younger than me).
"I guess introductions are needed?" I asked. He nodded, holding his arm with his other hand. "My name's X... Xelqua." I said, the name seeming foreign on my tongue. I internally winced in distaste. I already disliked the name, and it's only my first time using it.
"I'm... Zachariah." He replied. He hesitated, confirming my thoughts. Everyone here must have been given a different name. He held his hand out late, as if he had to decide whether to shake my hand or not. I shook it, noticing his strong grasp and eye contact.
I retracted my hand, flipping the page. He silently turned away, sitting on his bed. His legs swung over the side, somehow. It doesn't make sense. He is clearly taller than me, so how could he not touch the floor?
I shook my head to myself and went back to reading. I didn't pay attention to what Zachariah was doing. If I just keep doing what I was doing (being antisocial but still nice), I can make it through these six or whatever years in peace, and do whatever the Watcher's goals are.
After a few minutes of silence, a loud bang sounded in the center of the main quarters, just outside all the room doors.