Nerluce turned the page of the book with a yawn.

Being a second-year disciple... was even more brutal than being a first year. Nerluce rubbed his eyes and tried to focus on the words in front of him. But the longer he stared, the more it seemed to all blur together. He pushed his hair from his eyes, glancing at the candle. He had extended its light through a good portion of the night - dimming it so it just barely gave him enough light to read by.

Honestly, Nerluce should probably be working more with his fire. He could already feel himself getting behind because he needed to focus on his academic studies or risk getting kicked out. Apparently, Seraphs needed some base level of intelligence.

Unfortunately, Nerluce didn't have that. He kept squinting at the page but none of the words processed. It was math. He thought it was math. He was usually fine in math but recently they'd started doing problems that required... a lot of thought. They were less math and more riddles. Nerluce couldn't just make calculations anymore, now he had to figure out what the calculations meant.

And Nerluce really, really, didn't like reading.

This wasn't working. Nerluce rubbed his eyes. He needed to get this down but he just couldn't concentrate. Maybe he should go on a late-night run? That might clear his head enough to focus. But if he left the candle, it would burn out and Nerluce wouldn't be able to light it again until morning. So... he'd run with the candle. And maybe he should take the book with him too in case reading was easier when he was moving like magic was. And maybe...

The door creaked open. Nothing about the room was new and the door had a tendency to creak, even when one was trying to be quiet. Nerluce knew well enough from experience. He'd accidentally woken Jurine up coming back from a late-night run - but really it was because she was an insanely light sleeper - and she'd glared daggers at him the entire next day.

Nerluce turned his head, watching as Corbett flinched with the creaking door. And then flinched again when he saw Nerluce sitting there.

They didn't have much time to stare at one another because Hamelin pushed the door the rest of the way open, regardless of the noise. Corbett's arm was wrapped around Hamelin's shoulders and he seemed to stagger as Hamelin took him to his futon. Nerluce couldn't make Corbett's face out very well in the poor lighting but he was pretty sure it was flushed.

"What's wrong with him?" Nerluce asked, walking over to look at Corbett. "Is he sick? Should I get Taayir?"

"No," Hamelin said.

Jurine sat up. Whether it had been the creaky door or Nerluce's whispered questions, she'd apparently woken. And now she was glaring at the three of them, despite it not being Nerluce's fault in the slightest.

She wrinkled her nose. "He reeks of liquor. What did you two do?"

"Went down the mountain," Corbett said, his words coming out slurred. "Been a while since... since I got this drunk."

"He's drunk?" Nerluce asked, poking him with a finger. "Is this what people look like when they're drunk?"

"Have you seriously never seen a drunk person before, Nerluce?" Jurine asked, crawling out from beneath her blankets to come closer. "What type of noble were you?"

Nerluce made a face. "The one getting drunk?"

Jurine scoffed and laid her hand on Corbett's head. "Well, he doesn't seem to be running a fever. Get a bucket for him and a glass of water." Hamelin gave a dip of his head and stood up to fetch the requested items from downstairs. "Bastard is lucky I don't report both of them. They could be kicked out for this."

"Why aren't you?" Nerluce blurted.

Like the idiot he was.

"Because," Jurine said, looking down at Corbett. "I get it. I know what it's like to drink to find some sort of... escape."

"Oh," Nerluce said.

"And if this dumbass is getting kicked out for anything it's not going to be this," Jurine said, clenching her fist. "I want to be a Seraph but I want to do it on my own strength. Not because I was the only option."

Slowly, Nerluce nodded. He understood that desire. Hamelin returned with the bucket and cup of water, which they left by Corbett's side.

"Seriously, though," Jurine said, "what happened?"

Hamelin looked down. He had rich, dark eyes, and they were currently filled with failure and shame. "Corbett and I went drinking," he said. "The... alcohol here is... much stronger than where we're from. We went over our... limits."

"Shit," Jurine said, slumping back. "You're drunk too?"

Hamelin grunted an affirmative.

"I can't believe you went drinking without me," Nerluce said.

Jurine hit him on the back of his head.

"What?" Nerluce spat, shooting the girl a glare. "I want to sneak down the mountain and do something fun every once in a while."

"Maybe if you weren't so busy studying you would've noticed them leaving," Jurine said, glaring right back at him. "And then you could've gone and all three of you could've gotten drunk off your asses because the next time it happens I'll report you all for it!" She crossed her arms in a huff. "Not even Taayir would be able to save you."

"Taayir would kill me," Nerluce said, curling his nose. "Why does everyone think she has even a tiny bit of favor for me? Or that I'm sleeping with her."

It was at this point Corbett decided to remind them all of his extremely bothersome existence with a blurted out, "You're not?" He then promptly bent over and vomited his stomach into the bucket. Hamelin sighed, pulling the shorter boy's yellow hair from his eyes so he wouldn't wake up smelling of vomit.

"Taayir does too like you," Jurine said. "Or at least she likes you more than anyone else."

"That's just because I talk to her," Nerluce shot back. "She would like you too if you stayed after class and kept practicing."

Jurine fixed him with a long stare before she huffed. "Not all of us are smart like you are Nerluce."

"Smart?" Nerluce echoed.

The word caught in his throat as he'd said it. It was almost impossible for him to say, especially in reference to himself. He wasn't... he wasn't smart. Jurine and Eko... they were smart. They didn't have to study like he had to. They never stayed late for extra lessons or had to sacrifice sleep just to get a marginally better test score. Nerluce was barely scraping by. He was in no way smart.

"Yeah!" Jurine said. "Eko and I were talking about it the other day and you're literally the smartest kid in the fire affinity dorms."

"I am not!" Nerluce said.

Jurine turned to look at Hamelin and Corbett for support. Corbett, however, was being returned to his futon, claimed by unconsciousness once again. Hamelin however, gave a small grunt. "Nerluce studies more than anyone."

"That doesn't make me smart," Nerluce protested. "In fact, that makes me less smart!"

"How does studying make someone less smart?" Jurine asked.

"Because- because you guys can just do it and I can only do it if I stay up until gods know how late." He shook his head, hopelessly. "I can't pay attention in class and my body refuses to change to fit my magic. I- I'm not smart or talented or much of anything." He ran his hands through his hair. "Shit."

"No, it's okay," Jurine said, giving him a small nudge. "I get it. I really do get it, Nerluce." She offered him a smile. "But you really are different from the rest of us. Smarter - I think. I've never seen someone with a fire affinity study like you do."

"Because they're all talented?" Nerluce asked.

"No..." Jurine shook her head. "I can't exactly place what it is about you, Nerluce, but..." She snapped her fingers. "You remind me of Head Disciple Aristide."

Nerluce wrinkled his nose.

Jurine laughed. A bit. It might've been a pity laugh but she still laughed. She had a nice laugh. "Both of you have this... way about you. An energy, I guess? I can't describe it properly but... it's nice. You're nice." She looked down and pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Anyway, it- it's late. We should all get to sleep. We have an exam tomorrow and we should all be well-rested for it."

"Alright," Nerluce said. "You got everything, Hamelin?"

Hamelin grunted.

Nerluce's entire body felt heavy. He knew he should probably go for a run and then keep studying - he needed to get this math down for the exam - but... he was tired. Worn was probably a better word for it. Nerluce had expressed more emotions than he'd intended to in his sleep-deprived state.

But... Jurine wouldn't use it against him. Or at least he hoped that she wouldn't. She seemed like a kind person. Smart and good with magic. And from a good family. Nerluce groaned as he rolled over and blew out his candle, though it wasn't as easy to stop the pounding of his heart. She had called him smart. She thought that he was smart. Gods, what dumb thing had fallen from Nerluce's lips to fool her so?

He shook his head and forced his eyes shut.