Private Friend or Foe

[Irina Jesart]

He sounded surprised by her offer of help, not that Irina could blame him. It was very much every student for themselves, save those who had come with family.

"Yes, I think I am." She replied with a small smile.

Aerik was a logical choice, he and his siblings meant that he came with the promise of two other sets of eyes, and although the odds may have been deliberately stacked against them, the children of Gerwald Lechner were hardly a poor choice for allies.

This, Irina told herself, was the reason she was heping him. Though in truth it had more to do with the fact that his presence was oddly comforting, that there was seemingly no ulterior motive for inviting her to relax. That maybe...for the first time, she might be able to have a space to be herself, though, Irina was not entirely sure who that person was.

"And I'll have yours." She replied softly, his declaration made her eyes glitter with happiness. She rolled onto her back, settling her gaze on the stars once more and let out a sigh.

"How long do you think we can stay here before anyone realises were notnwhere we should be?"

Aerik Lechner

 

[Aerik Lechner]

WEARING: xxx
TAG: Irina Jesart

They came to a fast understanding. It was for mutual benefit. Aerik wanted to tell himself they weren't playing some kind of game, but he could not help but wonder what happened then the academy would pit them against each other. The thought lingered in the back of his mind, because everything about this place seemed designed to go against them in order to shape them.

Still, Aerik nodded.

The pup let out a breath when Irina rolled onto her back once more. If he were forced to admit it, he had never held another's gaze for so long. It was likely he had been blushing the whole time, if it were not for the fact he was practiced in hiding his emotions behind a stoic mask. One thing this academy seemed to be giving Aerik was a network outside of his brother and sister. Was it doing the same for them?

His mind drifted to the Echani twins for a moment. The fire eyed acolyte was certain he'd made a rival out of the boy without even trying. His awkward kindness had been mistaken for something else, and his temper during testing did not win him friends. All he could do was hope to win them as allies as well.

Irina's question caught Aerik by surprise. He should have been thinking about it, but in truth, thus far he's never been caught. A shrug was his initial reply.

"They've been patrolling more since the attack last week. We're still being punished for it."

It was not right. The proctors knew the assassination attempt had come from outside the academy. They may not have known who was targeted, but they knew it had not been brought on by the students. Rather than punish those which took advantage, like those from the first cohort which sought take out who they could in the fifth, the fifth had taken the brunt of it all. Still, Aerik was proud of himself. He and his siblings managed to walk away with the assassin blades of those they had killed.

No one knew about those. It was their secret.

"I suppose as long as we're back before reveille."

Aerik was not quite ready to leave, though they both knew they'd have to part company soon. He had finally rolled onto his back once more.

"We can always meet here again… every new moon if you'd like?"

 

[Irina Jesart]

Irina's forehead creased into a frown at the mention of the proctors continued punishment of the lower cohorts, there had been many in forth and fifth that had been hauled off to cells or the hospital wing as they had been descended upon by the academy's security.

"They want us to retaliate."

She said softly, a realisation dawned on her.

"Only those who are weak would remain under such heavy boot, they want us to push back, to prove that we are more than punching bags for their pleasure. To think outside of the meagre tools we have at our fingertips."

Her mind began turning options over in her head. They wouldn't be able to kove as smoothly through the academy at night as the first and second had, but there were only seven in the first cohort. Seven could be silenced easy enough, it was just a matter of how.

If Irina saw a chance to stick it to the slimy Firrerro she would seize it with both hands and relish in his downfall. She'd taken a dislike to him from day one.

Aerik's question pulled her from her thoughts and she blinked turning to look at him again. He wanted to see her here again? She opened her mouth to ask the question, then realised that it would sound ridiculous. They'd just agreeed to be friends had they not? That was what friends did...right?

"I..." she felt her cheeks heat up again, cursing herself silently she tried again. "Every new moon sounds perfect."

Aerik Lechner

 

[Aerik Lechner]

WEARING: xxx
TAG: Irina Jesart

“Do they,” Aerik asked with a look which indicated he did not quite believe that was the case. “We can push back, but they still control a lot. The only way to get out from under their thumb is by rising through the ranks. That means those in the higher cohorts need to fail to impress or pass.”

The pup sat up and turned his body to face Irina.

“Take this Firrerro for example. He impressed early, out of the gate. He had no surprises left that any of us are aware of. We know he dabbles in alchemy, but can he actually fight? Is he really strong, or does he just have an overestimated view of his own ability and importance? That street urchin… What is their name? They walk in without a sponsor, get one, and then find themselves in the first cohort by sheer luck?”

Aerik shrugged.

“I don’t buy any of it. The exam was rigged. The results were rigged. None of that mattered, except maybe the blood test to make sure we all belong here. They know me and my siblings are not human, and they let us all in, and put us in the same cohort. In fact, many who performed better then find themselves in lower ranks now.”

It was clear her words had struck a nerve with Aerik.

“Then there is that assassination attempt. That was no raid. It was deliberate. Someone outside the academy wants someone inside the academy dead. Punishing us for fighting is just covering up the truth. They don’t want the bulk of the students knowing the guards failed to keep assassins out of the academy.”

The pup grinned.

“Us being here now is proof they still have not solved the holes in how they patrol the academy. If we wanted to, we could slip out.”

Aerik had done it once before. He knew the way out. Another shrug followed as he plucked a blade of grass out of the ground and ran it between his thumb and forefinger. The soft hairlike texture tingled his skin as he ran the blade back and forth.

“They may catch us sneaking around eventually, but until they do, I’ll meet you here. Also, we don’t have to pretend if we see each other in passing. Let’s just hope they don’t make us duel each other.”

It was a possibility, and if they ever got caught sneaking out of their cohorts at night, it would likely be a guarantee.

“It’s going to be a long four years as it is,” he chuckled.

 

[Irina Jesart]

Irina made a noise of disgust at the mention of the Firrerro, pushing herself up on her elbows to study Aerik and the fire her words seemed to have ignited in him. He wasn't wrong in any of it, the game was rigged. She'd been among the top following the first round of trials and yet found herself one cohort away from the bottom. The question was why?

"If the raid was a cover up, then it would suggest the assassination attempt was an inside job. Someone would have had to have tipped the Firrerro off to launch something so bold. And if it was someone outside the academy, its someone who is watching closely someone who has influence to make sure there are still holes in patrols."

She sat upright, her shoulder brushing his as she did.

"Whatever the truth is, we are not meant to rely on those above us failing. One way or another, we have to make them fail and take their place. Conflict, whether we want it or not, is going to be the only language spoken for the next four years."

She gave his shoulder a soft nudge. "I promise, if they make us duel each other, I'll go easy on you."

Aerik Lechner

 

[Aerik Lechner]

WEARING: xxx
TAG: Irina Jesart

Aerik shrugged. He was not ready to tell her about the knife he and his siblings had each recovered. They were hiding them in case they were needed, but if others in the cohort knew they had actual weapons, it was going to be trouble. If the Echani twins would open up to him, he would likely tell them. What Aerik also refused to tell Irina was he had an idea of who the target had been.

It was all a sick test, and not one the proctors had arranged. They allowed it however.

Irina pushed up on her elbows to study his face, and they found their eyes locking again. For the first time since they talked, Aerik found himself studying the girl’s features. There was a softness to her appearance which her harsh upbringing had not chiseled away. She was like Vyra in that sense. Aerik and Kole had become hard. Kole especially. He expected that both of them would have sharper features as they aged. Their father was the example of what they appeared to be.

“I could ask my father to find out I suppose, but just because he is on the Dark Council, it does not mean he knows everything happening in the Order.”

Gerwald would be livid to hear there was an attack on the academy which had been arranged by someone on the outside.

Aerik turned his gaze away when he realized he might have been holding hers for too long.

He laughed at her comment about going easy on him. If they were trusting each other, he should tell her about his strength, but it would likely be best to tell her after he shifted. Aerik did not know how his first change would affect him. Were there latent abilities he did not know about? The next full moon, two weeks. He would know then. They would pass by longer than the next four years would. Each day until the moon came, Aerik would be in a great amount of pain.

“If they make us face each other, one of us will have to win. That day will test every promise we have made to each other tonight.”

Aerik nudged her shoulder playfully.

“Besides, shouldn’t I be the one taking it easy on you. I thought the gentleman always let the lady win?”

 

[Irina Jesart]

She felt the heat returning to her cheeks the longer he looked at her, caught beneath the gaze of those golden eyes. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, eyes dripping to the grass as he looked away, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"Be careful, if your father starts looking into it people will make the assumption you told him regardless of whether you do or not. Having a parent meddling in the academy affairs is not going to do you any favours."

His laughter made her cheeks flush harder, not because she was insulted nor embarrassed bybit, but simply because she enjoyed it. Irina liked that fact that she had been able to kake him laugh after such a sombre conversation and she found herself grinning despite herself.

She offered him a shrug in response. "If something as simple as a duel can break a promise, then perhaps the promise wasn't strong enough."

She shot him a dark expression at his jest.

"If a gentlemen is stupid enough to take it easy on a lady then he deserves every beating he gets."

A lifetime of being reminded she was the lesser sex, that had she been born a boy, things might have been easier. That if her father had remarried and his new wifenhad produced a male heir how different things would have been. She blew a sigh out of her nose.

"Sorry." She said quietly.

Aerik Lechner

 

[Aerik Lechner]

WEARING: xxx
TAG: Irina Jesart

“You’re right,” he said softly. “I cannot have my dad poking around, at least not if it is connected to me. Had the attack been on another cohort, one I am not in, it would be different.”

Gerwald had only made provision for his children to be able to change, and learn control. He was the only one who could teach them that as the proctors of the school did not have the knowledge to do so. They had not been difficult to convince when the wolf described what happens when a Lupo first changes. Even if it did not kill them, an unguided first shift created a violent beast. Most of the students near his children would be killed.

They did not want that on their heads.

Aerik knew enough about what could happen to be grateful his father had made those arrangements. Beyond that, they were not supposed to have contact with their family outside the academy for the first year. They had to learn isolation and reliance on those around them. What allies they made in the first year would be an important test. There would be those who would try and go it alone, but this school was for leaders. Leaders never did anything alone.

He smiled and nodded.

“I suppose that is true. It just depends on whether one of us might need to win or not. I would not put it past the proctors here to create that exact situation. Using desperation to test something if they become aware of it.”

The pup let his smile fall slightly.

“Everything here is a test.”

The mood seemed to change with his joke however. It did not land well. Clearly it struck a nerve that had been pinched by upbringing or planetary culture. The comment suggested she was intent on proving that being a woman made her no less capable. Her apology was soft and swift, and Aerik nodded.

His hand went to her chin, and the pup made her look into his eyes.

“Don’t apologize. Sith don’t apologize. It is beneath your dignity to do so. I won’t take it easy on you, and you won’t take it easy on me. Let’s just promise to be fair, and that we won’t kill each other like the others in the dueling circle will try and do.”

Aerik let her chin go.

It had been something Carifex had told him. Sith took what they could because they could. If Irina could beat him fairly, then so be it. She deserved it. If she could not, then she deserved the shame of defeat which would follow. A nod communicated there was nothing else to say on that topic. They were getting to understand each other which was good.

“What do you think our first class is going to be like? Have you gotten your schedule yet?”

 

[Irina Jesart]

There was a touch of sadness in his words. That everything here was a test meant that nothing was truly what it seemed. Every alliance or friendship they forged would be pushed to its limits, even the bonds of family were likely to be pitted against one another. Irina hated it, but she understood it. Whatever they endured here, was to prepare them for what awaited them beyond the academy walls.

Irina could not help the sharp intake of breath as his fingers lifted her chin, nor quiet the suden jump in her heart rate as he made her look at him. His words quiet, yet stern. Don't apologise. He let her go and nodded, another promise made. She realised she'd been holding her breath and let it out slowly as she fixed her gaze on the grass, determined to hide the effect he was having on her. She told herself it was simply because contect with any her own age, let alone a boy had been limited. That it had absolutely nothing to do with those beautiful golden eyes.

She was grateful for the change in subject, it gave herself something else to think about besides the realisation of how close they were actually sitting.

"Not yet no." She replied shaking her head "Though I imagine the first few lessons will be basic knowledge, filling any gaps we kight have come in with. Probably all theory too. Wouldn't want to give us any more tools to go raiding with just yet."

She managed a small smile.

"Is there a subject you're looking forward too the most?"

Aerik Lechner

 

[Aerik Lechner]

WEARING: xxx
TAG: Irina Jesart

For a brief moment Aerik had thought he had done something wrong. When he lifted the girl’s chin to look at him her heart started racing, almost frantically. His hearing was sensitive enough to pick up on the change of rhythm. Had he frightened her somehow? He was only trying to make the point that neither of them should ever apologize. They had to get used to saying what they wanted, and doing what they wanted, otherwise none of them would ever become the leaders they could be.

She looked away again.

The topic of their classes came up quickly. She answered the question as fast as he asked it. Aerik was certain he must have done something wrong if Irina was taking advantage of the change in subject matter so quickly. He sighed at the information. She had not gotten a schedule yet. It seemed no one had yet.

“Theory, I sure hope not,” Aerik protested. “I’ve had enough of that. Darth Carnifex was one of my teachers before coming here. He made us read and read and read. I know the history of every order, the downfall of each of them. The hubris which infected all of them, and why. I have learned every martial art he could think to teach.”

He grinned. At this point he knew it was braggadocious, but the pup did not care. In some ways it was a badge of honor, and on the other they were getting to know each other. What subject was he hoping for? There were many he could think of, but what he wanted the most was opportunity. Aerik wanted the chance to prove that he was more than his father’s name, and that he was not just the son of the Emperor’s Hound. If only they knew the truth.

“I want experience outside of training. I am looking forward to the field tests.”

He grinned.

“So… is there a reason your heart started racing?”

Aerik tapped his ear.

 

[Irina Jesart]

Irina could not help but feel the touch of jealousy at Aerik's bragging of his tutoring. Of course it made sense, considering who his father was, that he would have access tonone of the most powerful Lords as a teacher. She herself was lucky enough to know what she knew because of the few minor sith lords her father had been able to convince to teach her.

"Not all of us are so privileged to have had access to one of the greats." She replied softly, there was no bitterness in it, just a gentle reminder that although he had been placed in the lowest cohort, his privilege made him greater than those in the first. Perhaps thatbwas why he was placed there, she thought.

A grin spread across her face atvthe mention of field tests. That was the ultimate goal wasn't it? To prove yourself beyond the confines of the academy.

"You think we'll be lucky enough to see any field work in our first year?" She pondered.

His next question made her head snap up to look at him, surprise across he features. "I don't...I...my what?" She stammered, her heart picking up pace again. Oh, there would be no hiding anything from him if she couldn't get a grip of herself.

She cleared her throat. "You can hear my heart?"

Aerik Lechner

 

[Aerik Lechner]

WEARING: xxx
TAG: Irina Jesart

Privileged, Aerik wanted to argue with it, but he could not. Once again she was correct. There were those who had no access to the kinds of training Aerik had before coming to the Academy. He wanted to shrug it off anyway. It was clear she did not have the training he had, and that it was a bit of a sore spot. Still, he smiled as her question shifted more to his desire for field experience.

“I mean maybe? I am sure they don’t want to throw us into outright war yet, but how else are we going to be challenged or forced to learn how to lead?”

It was a fair question.

Her heartbeat began to race once more when he asked about why it had been beating so fast. Clearly this was the wrong thing to do. Aerik looked away as he nodded in response to the question. Yes, he could hear her heart, especially when it was quiet around them.

“Well I heard you following me. It stands to reason I can hear your heart.”

An apologetic smirk pulled at his lips.

“Did I say or do something wrong?”

 

[Irina Jesart]

If she was honest with herself, the idea of going into the field in their first year made Irina a little nervous. They were after all, still children, and though she considered herself more mature than most, purely through the circumstances of her upbringing, the idea of any of the fighting on a battlefield seemed brutal, even for Sith. Still, Aerik was right, without some field experience, there were limited ways in which their skills could be truly challenged.

Irina closed her eyes as he looked away, feeling foolish for even asking if he could hear her heartbeat, but answering his question with one of her own was all she could muster. She sighed and shook her head in response to his question as she opened her eyes. "No, not at all, it's just..." How did she explain without making herself seem a fool?

"There are rules, in the society I grew up in. Girls are never allowed to interact with boys without a chaperone for fear that we might be...sullied before we could be married off." she felt her cheeks burning again. "This...meeting would never have been allowed at home. And if we had been successful in slipping away from a chaperone? We both would have been beaten for it."

She shrugged plucking at the grass. "Now, I'm in a mixed dorm, where no one cares who I talk to. It's a change I'm still getting used to, thats all."

Aerik Lechner

 

[Aerik Lechner]

WEARING: xxx
TAG: Irina Jesart

Rules and propriety when it came to the type of thing which Irina was talking about were not something the pup had been raised with. For the most part there had been no time for such things, and considering the polygamist beliefs of the Sith which trained him, Aerik had seen far too many examples of what life, love, and marriage could be. His parents were an example of those that found love and held onto it. No one would break them.

Aerik could imagine that many in the academy were experiencing things for the first time, or the opposite of what they were used to. For his own part the wolf pup was placed in a position to struggle and earn everything he would gain. He supposed life had been easier for him, and in midst of the challenge he now faced, Aerik had to wonder if he was prepared for it. If he was not then either Carnifex had been a poor tutor, or Aerik had been a subpar student.

His test was to prove to all that his training was not only superior, but complete and thorough.

He blushed at her explanation. The idea one could be sullied before marriage was archaic, but a topic which Aerik did not have experience in. He had never been a student of the opposite sex, even if he knew what she was talking about. The blonde would not be able to hide the color in his cheeks, but he also decided it was a topic they did not need to pursue. The message had been clear enough.

“We are all getting used to change, some of us more than others.”

He looked to the moon.

“I am nervous and excited about the next full moon,” he admitted with a soft sigh. “I’m going to change. I won’t be the same by the time we meet her at the next new moon. The next two weeks are going to be excruciatingly painful. If anyone wants me dead it would be relatively easy.”

Why was he telling her this? If they were going to truly have each other’s backs this would be the greatest test of it. They still did not truly know each other, and one night of conversation was not enough to garner trust. She was likeable. Aerik felt as though he had gained a friend and ally, but he had been influenced by his master enough to test everything. Maybe it would be his downfall and prevent him getting close to anyone, but Sith did not let down their guard easily or often.

“If I don’t show up to a class… don’t look for me.”

 

[Irina Jesart]

Irina relaxed, grateful that she didn't need to explain further, the barest of smiles on her lips at his blush. She had the graces to fix her gaze on the grass as she ran her finhers idly through it, allowing him a moment to recover himself before he spoke again.

Tentatively she looked up at him, watching him as he watched the moon, spilling secrets he should probably not spill, and yet the fact that he did made her feel somehow safer in his presence.

She wanted to find words of comfort to offer him, but she had no experience of such things so instead she sat quietly watching and listening.

"No one is going to touch you." She said quietly, surprised at the edge of her voice. "Your siblings have your back. And so do I."

She turned her own gaze to the dark moon. "How long will you be gone for when it happens?" She was not so much of a fool thay she'd go hunting for a Lupo during a full moon, but if he vanished before or after, she might consider it.

Aerik Lechner

 

[Aerik Lechner]

WEARING: xxx
TAG: Irina Jesart

"A day, if that."

Did he want to tell her why she didn't need to look for him? Irina was asking like she needed to know how long to expect him missing as if she really wanted to know when she needed to start worrying. The last thing the pup wanted was anyone to worry about him. His siblings would, Vyra especially. They had been close in a special way. She understood both of her brothers in a way they didn't understand each other. Kole and Aerik were as different as the sun and moon, yet they were brothers. Vyra was the sky which held them both in place.

"If I'm gone any longer than that, it means I didn't survive my change. Which means, you shouldn't look for me."

So he said it anyway. She deserved to know. Besides there was no point in getting in trouble at the academy over a pup that wasn't strong enough to make it through their first change. It was the way nature weeded out the weak among his kind. What Aerik did not know was how much more dangerous this change would be than his father's. There was more than just a wolf trying to get out.

His eyes darted back toward the direction they had come from. He breathed in through his nose quickly a few times as though he were smelling the air. He was. Someone was coming. They needed to hide.

"C'mon, we've been here a little too long."

Aerik stood up quickly and reached down to help Irina off the grass. He led them to a hidden alcove, one he'd hid in several times before he had learned the guards pattern of patrol. He muttered a curse under his breath. Having a friend in his sanctuary was a distraction.

Distractions were dangerous.

"Do you know your way back, or do I need to show you," he whispered the question.

It was important. If they were going to meet every new moon she had to know how to find the center of the maze without his help. They were more likely to get caught if they traversed the maze together. Aerik waited for the guard to pass, and then waited a few more moments until he could sense that the scent was moving away from them.

"Okay, it's safe. We better head back."

 

[Irina Jesart]

"Oh."

It was all Irina could find to say, after all what else did you say to a new friend that told you if they didn't come back after the first full moon they were dead? She didn't believe he would be, she might not know a lot about him but she wouldn't for a second have thought he wouldn't survive. The academy students were tested to weed out the weak, if he was here, then he would be strong enough to survive.

Right?

The sudden shift in his relaxed state made her look round searching for the source of his alertness, straining her ears to see if she could hear what he seemed to be able to smell. She couldn't but she trusted his senses accepting the hand and letting him lead her into an alcove tucked away in the shadows, she finally heard the distinct sound of heavy boots on the maze path. Had she been alone, she would not have had time to hide.

"I...uh...might have lost my sense of direction following you in here." She whispered back sheepishly. "If you can show me the way, I will be able to find my way here next time without issue."

They watched in silence as the guard passed through on his patrol, staying hidden till his boots faded out of her earshot. She squeezed out of the alcove at his confirmation it was safe and grinned at him.

"Maybe we shouldn't let ourselves get so distracted next time."

Aerik Lechner

 

[Aerik Lechner]

WEARING: xxx
TAG: Irina Jesart

Aerik nodded. What was there to discuss about it? He would either survive or he would not. It was the way of things. If he did not survive he was weak, and he did not deserve to be in the academy as well. Sith were brutal that way, and Aerik was nothing more than evolved Sith Spawn. His father had learned the truth while on the planet his species originated from. He could not share that secret. The proctors already knew because of the blood test that he was different.

No one else could know. There were few among the SIth Order who likely knew. If Aerik had to guess the Empress was one of them. His father’s debt to her was one he expected the family to carry forward. They just did not know how, other than continued service. It was part of the reason he and his siblings were in the academy, but one thing had been made clear to them. Their loyalty was to her above that of the Order. She had not always been Empress of the Order, and if a day came when she no longer was, they served her.

The pup chuckled at the fact she had not paid attention to the directions he had taken. Aerik nodded when she told him she would remember the way if he showed her how to get back. He supposed it would have been easy enough to get lost in a curious sight. It would also be easy enough to piece the direction back together in reverse order.

“I think they were a little early,” he suggested, then shrugged. “Maybe.”

Had he lost track of time, likely. However it was possible they were early. Aerik could admit to losing track of time, but they were still nowhere near dawn. As long as they were back before then, that is what he had told her. Maybe the riot in the fifth cohort had made them step up their security efforts. If that was the case it confirmed what he believed and knew.

It had been an outside job.

Aerik motioned for her to follow, keeping her hand so she would not get lost. At each turn he made her repeat it back to him so he knew she had it. Once they reached where they had entered the maze, Aerik made her tell him how to get to the center of it. He nodded when she got it correct.

“All right. Well… I suppose if we don’t want to get caught we better say goodnight.”

He smiled, even if he was not ready to go to bed.

 

[Irina Jesart]

Making there way back out through the maze, tucking close to the shadows just in acse another patrol came past Irina made sure to pay attention to their direction and not the fact that he was holding her hand the whole way through. When he let it go once they'd reached the entrance, she couldn't help but notice how the absence of it made her hand feel cold.

She shook it off mentally, reciting the path to the centre of the maze back to him with ease, mirroring his smile.

"I guess that would be the sensible thing." Her eyes drifted in the direction of the First Cohorts quarters and she let out a disappointed sigh. There was always tomorrow night to do some recon and see what they were up against. Her eyes drifted back to his, as she realised with a panic, she was not sure how to say goodnight. Did she just say it and walk away? Did she shake his hand? Did she curtsey? How did you say goodnight to a friend?

"You should go first, your dorm is further than mine."

Hardly. She thought to herself, but any excuse she could muster to not be the one to initiate any goodnight worked just fine for her.

Aerik Lechner

 

[Aerik Lechner]

WEARING: xxx
TAG: Irina Jesart

Okay, so this was awkward. Neither one of them seemed to be saying good night to the other. They were going to get caught if they continued to stand about the walkway, out in the open. He was going to have to just say goodnight and leave. A small smirk tugged at his lips, the stoic Lechner not even realizing his mask had dropped.

"Sensible," he shrugged, "practical."

It was exactly what they needed to do. There would be no future meetings if they were seen together now. If the proctors learned Aerik had free reign of the academy at night they'd scrub the footage from their security measures and find out just how free he had been. That would mean more guards, more patrols, and likely Aerik would personally be put on lock down.

He shrugged at her suggestion, then shook his head.

"I think fourth is further from here."

Was it the wrong thing to call her out like that? Aerik wasn't too sure about much with this one. The way she reacted and responded to him was confusing in so many ways. His mask fell back firmly in place. If any of the other students were awake, he couldn't let anyone see past what he wanted them to see.

"Well either way, goodnight," he said. "I guess I'll see you around."

He turned and started to head in the direction of the dorm wondering if she'd actually say goodnight as well.