Ethera had several towers that served as dormitories for the disciples of the temple, which Nerluce figured he officially was. The tower for those with an affinity towards fire was... well it was probably just like the others. The first floor served as a common room with a large fire pit in the center and plenty of cushions for them to sit on. A couple of people were in this common room, talking and laughing.

Nerluce didn't say anything as he walked past them, going up the stairs.

The tower had six floors in total and which one you slept on depended on your rank, with a higher floor equating a higher ranking. Nerluce didn't see how this was fair because higher-ranking individuals only got a slightly better view at the cost of having to walk up significantly more stairs.

Each floor had four rooms - named for the first four characters in the alphabet - and each of these rooms held about six people. Nerluce was on the second floor - of course - in room D. Nerluce found his room relatively easily. He hesitated, perhaps for too long because all it managed to do was make him more nervous. He gritted his teeth and gripped the handle, pushing into the dorm.

Inside, there were six futons on the floor, neatly made. The room didn't smell as bad as Nerluce thought it would smell. In fact, it seemed rather nice all things considered, which should have been his first warning. But what tipped him off that something was actually amiss was a head of red curls, metal legs crossed as she sat on one of the futons and flipping through the small book of the temple's rules. She looked up, upon hearing someone enter and then smiled.

"Nerluce! I didn't think we'd meet again this soon!" Lyana said.

The same Lyana who happened to be the most powerful magician of their generation. And Nerluce was sharing a room with her.

Actually, why was he sharing a room with a girl?

"You got fire too?" Nerluce asked, skimming the room before determining a futon that no one was using, and sitting down upon it.

"Huh?" Lyana asked, frowning slightly. "I mean, I think they just stuck me in here because they wanted more girls," she rolled her eyes. "I dunno why. Fire is masculine magic just like water is feminine. I guess it's not so bad. Some of the other dorms are having to double, even triple up in rooms."

"Fire's not that uncommon, is it?" Nerluce asked, looking around the room once more. It had been half-empty before today and it seemed wrong to have all those extra futons lying around when others were so cramped.

"The C and D rooms are usually reserved for women but I guess they broke and tossed us in here too," Lyana said with a grin. "They'll probably move a couple of the other boys in here by tomorrow, though, if I had to guess."

"I guess that makes me pretty lucky," Neruce hummed, feeling in a significantly better mood.

This seemed as though he'd stumbled into every well-respecting man's dream: living with a bunch of girls. Girls with fire magic. It would either be a dream or a nightmare but Nerluce was certain that if he happened to trip headfirst into a romance in this place, it would be one Lord Father approved of.

"So you're that type of person are you?" Lyana asked with a snort. "I'll totally roast you alive if you try anything."

"Young mistress, I would never dare," Nerluce said with a wink.

To which Lyana rolled her eyes and opened the small book again. "Shit," she muttered. "It's written in the formal Ithornese dialect. How in the gods' names are some of us supposed to read this?"

"Just... don't," Nerluce said. "Little fire, say it was an accident."

Lyana opened her mouth and then closed it, before putting her hand over it as if she was giving the idea some serious consideration. "No," she finally said. "No. Bad idea. We could burn the futons."

"Well, I misplaced mine when changing," Nerluce said, stretching out on the futon. The new uniform he donned was not uncomfortable as it was unfamiliar. The pants, in particular, were definitely of Tilican origin. They were made of coarse, off-white fabric. The boots were most definitely western, though he couldn't place which country. They all blurred together in his memory. They were tall, coming up almost to his knees, and made of soft leather.

The robes were slightly more familiar but even then they were cut in a more central style than Nerluce was used to. The collar seemed too high and too stiff, it didn't have sleeves, and there was a slit on the left side, which probably explained why they needed to wear the foreign pants. The most distinctly Ithornese thing about these clothes was the golden sash that wrapped around the waist so one could carry a sword.

Lyana groaned loudly as she collapsed onto her pillow as well. "I think I'm going to take a little break."

"I think I'm going to take a nap."

"That-" Lyana paused for a moment and then laughed a bit. "That sounds so tempting right now. Don't tempt me."

"Oh no, it's too late," Nerluce said with a bit of a laugh himself. "Wake me up at mealtime."

"I'll try."

___

Lyana did not, in fact, wake Nerluce up at mealtime.

They were both late, hurrying into the dining hall with tousled hair and sleep-kissed eyes. The older kids - and really they weren't that much older - snarked something but Lyana made a gesture with her finger which she later explained had a rather crude meaning. It didn't spoil their meal, though, as both Nerluce and Lyana sat down and ate like a pair of ravenous wolves, laughing and joking through the meal.

Afterward, Nerluce left Lyana, though. He still had the cucumber slices from breakfast he wanted to give to Eden and he also wanted some time to himself. He had... he had always spent a large amount of his youth alone. All of these people, eating and sleeping and existing with one another was... a bit overwhelming. Nerluce wanted to have it all instantly but just as someone who hasn't eaten in a while can't handle solid foods at first, Nerluce found himself nauseous.

The smell of the stables didn't particularly help with that but the horses did. It was late and most of them had settled down for the night but a couple stomped their hooves and whinnied at Nerluce as he passed their stables. Finally, Nerluce came to perhaps one of the nicest stables, just as large, if not larger, than Nerluce's new quarters. Inside of this was the massive white stallion.

His ear pricked and he turned when Nerluce entered his stall. Nerluce offered him a cucumber slice and, after sniffing it thoroughly, Eden accepted. Nerluce fed the great war-horse slice after slice of cucumber. After everything he'd been through, all the battles he'd led and won, it seemed the horse had a nice retirement for him here and he deserved every heartbeat of it.

"How've you settled in?" Nerluce asked, half talking to the horse and half just thinking out loud. "I slept most of today. I mean that's not very unusual for me but..." He handed Eden another cucumber slice. "My new rooms will have five girls in them. I already met one of them. Her name's Lyana and she seems nice. I think... I think I'd like to be her friend."

Even saying the word a small bolt of joy through Nerluce. Friend, huh? He fed Eden the last cucumber slice.

"I think I'm going to meet a lot of interesting people here," Nerluce said. "Angel - oh, I guess his real name is Aristide seems like he'd be fun to mess around with. I probably shouldn't since he seems close to the High Priestess but..."

When had that ever stopped him before?

Nerluce stoked Eden's neck and sighed. "I'll bring you an apple if we ever get them with our meals. Until then it's just cucumbers."

As if the horse understood what he said, Eden snorted and his tail flicked.

Nerluce laughed as he left the stall, clicking the gate shut behind him. "Alright, I'll take your complaints up with the chef!" Nerluce said, leaning on the stall door.

"There is no chef in Ethera," a voice said.

Nerluce flinched, jumping backward and ramming his shoulder into the door of the stall. His back was to the wood as he let out a hiss of pain but his heartbeat was rabbit fast and his eyes - wide and searching - locked onto the figure who had approached so silently that Nerluce hadn't heard him.

But there, still dressed in white, Aristide stood with his shoulders raised and fingers creeping towards the hilt of his sword.

"Oh," Nerluce said, letting a hiss of air escape him in, disguised as a breath laugh. "Hi. You- uh- startled me," Then, thinking about it, he added on a hasty, "Aristide."

Aristide didn't look at all guilty about this. Instead, he turned his head to look at Eden. "This stallion... he's General Hebikoti's mount. He has been ridden into countless battles, turning the soil to clay and villages to rubble."

That... that was not how Nerluce was used to hearing Eden described.

Stupid. Of course, Aristide would see Eden - and by extent Coam - as some monstrous force! For whatever reason, Nerluce hadn't noticed it until now but Aristide was unmistakably Tilican. It was painfully obvious from the dark curls of his hair and the brown color of his skin. He might not wear Tilican clothes but putting a bow on a tiger didn't make it any less of a predator.

So caught up in these thoughts, Nerluce didn't notice that Aristide had reached out until it was too late. His fingers were extended and he was reaching for... Eden. Shit. Eden had taken someone's fingers off for less of an offense.

"Don't-"

The horse snapped, his ears pinned back and nostrils flared. He might've taken Aristide's fingertips if the boy's reaction time wasn't anything less than flawless. His hand jerked out of Eden's range the instant the horse tried to bite him. Aristide's eyes narrowed as he wiped his hand on his robe, though it had not been touched.

"Why did you bring this beast here?" Aristide said, his chin jutting up.

Nerluce was still gaping. He swallowed it down rather quickly to look Aristide in the eye. "Don't call him a beast. He just... doesn't like being touched." And that might've been something that Nerluce understood. And well... if one of them could defend himself... he had every right to snap.

A breath might've left Aristide's lips but... well Nerluce wasn't certain if Aristide breathed. There was still something unmistakably ethereal about him... how he moved without sound. He was... well he was well deserving of the name Angel.

"I offer him my apologizes," Aristide said before turning around, and for some reason, Nerluce felt as though he was apologizing to more than just Eden. "The stablemaster, however, is not willing to continually put himself and the disciples of this temple at risk. I believe it wouldn't be too prudent to ask for you to either care for your own stallion or arrange someone else to pick it up."

"I can take care of him," Nerluce said.

"Actually... I think we should have you take care of more than just him. You'd be here anyway, so it should just be your morning and evening tasks."

"Tasks?" Nerluce echoed.

And suddenly there was a glint in Aristide's eyes that seemed nothing short of wicked. "Yes," he said. "Did you not read the rules? All disciples of the temple will have tasks to complete in the morning, midday, and evening."

Nerluce felt his jaw go slack. Tasks. Tasks! That was a funny way of saying chores. Nerluce was the son of a noble. He'd never done a single chore in his life and yet... well there was something of a challenge that offered itself in Aristide's eyes. As if he was daring Nerluce to complain about this arrangement.

"So," Nerluce said, through gritted teeth, "My midday task?"

"Whatever the supervisor of your affinity dorm deems fit," Aristide said, waving him off. "It could be anything from cleaning chamber pots to doing dishes to sweeping to cooking the midday meal." Aristide smiled. "We have no chefs in Ethera."

And with that, he turned and walked away, just as silently as he'd come.