Nerluce slammed a stack of papers onto Taayir's desk.

She looked up from what she had been doing and narrowed her eyes at Nerluce. "What's this?" she asked, picking up the papers as if they were a snake. Nerluce shuddered as Taayir flipped through them and cocked a brow. "Why are you throwing the exams for your other classes onto my desk? I can't do anything about them."

"I did well," Nerluce said. "I had to retake two of them because the damn teacher thought I had cheated but look. I passed. Every single one of my exams I passed meaning every one of my classes I've passed."

"Yes, well done," Taayir said. "They cut everyone who didn't make it."

"I know," Nerluce said. He'd seen a couple of boys and one of the girls packing their belongings and leaving this morning. "You wanted me to study because you knew I would fail and be kicked out, didn't you."

Taayir nodded. "Yes."

"That's favoritism," Nerluce accused.

"So what?" Taayir said, standing up from her desk and offering Nerluce his papers back. "You're my favorite. And it wasn't as though I directly told you. I just made a suggestion that you should work on your academic studies in preparation for the upcoming exams."

Nerluce huffed. "Well thank you."

"I hope I didn't wound your pride too much," Taayir said, letting her lips curl up into a smirk.

"No," Nerluce said. He didn't have any pride left for her to wound. "I just... I just don't get it." He flailed his arms, desperately searching for the words he needed to make his point. "Why did you pick me? Like, there are so many more capable students. And there were probably more students who were worse off than I was. So... it just doesn't make sense."

Taayir hummed and nodded. "No it doesn't," she said. "Well, kid, if I'm being honest with you, I didn't pick you." She rolled her eyes. "You picked me. Other kids have come for extra lessons, too. Every once and a while. I tried to help them but usually, they only show up until they've mastered whatever trick they wanted to learn." Another eye roll. "You... seem to just genuinely want to improve your magic and who am I to deny any kid that."

"Oh," Nerluce said. "That feels a bit anticlimatic. I was hoping you saw something in me. Something that made me special."

"Nope," Taayir said. "But Nerluce?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm proud of you." She offered him a smile, warm and full of... affection? Was that affection? It had been so long since anyone had treated Nerluce with anything even close to affection he thought he'd forgotten it entirely. "Now tonight, I want you to go have fun with your friends and celebrate."

"Y-yes, Taayir," Nerluce said, quickly turning to leave.

"Just don't make too much trouble for us when you come back," Taayir called after him. "We turn a blind eye to it but just this one day a year, got it?"

Nerluce nodded, though he had no idea what she was talking about.

However, the moment he returned to the dorms, he found out. All of the upper years - or what remained of the upper years - were sitting together in the common area. All of the first years had been kicked out and the doors were manned by two of the third years who would make sure that no one was eavesdropping.

Nerluce looked around, frantically, before Lyana waved him over to one of the couches. She shifted over, nearly sitting on top of Eko who was nearly sitting on top of Jurine who was trying her hardest not to touch Corbett. The couch wasn't big enough for four people, much less five, but Nerluce plopped down anyway.

"What's going on?" he hissed in Lyana's ear.

"No clue," she said. "The third-years just kind of grabbed us and told us to sit down. It's some kind of initiation."

"My third-year friends won't tell me anything," Eko said.

"Do you think we're going to have to do something dangerous? Like, take a blood oath?" Jurine asked. "The teachers wouldn't allow that to happen, would they?"

"The teachers probably sanctioned it," Corbett spat.

"They wouldn't do something like that!" Jurine protested.

However, given what Taayir had said, Nerluce wasn't entirely sure he had the utmost faith in his beloved elders. Was it a blood oath? Taayir had told him to have fun but that also seemed like it might've been a sarcastic statement. Well maybe after the blood oath there was some sort of party?

He didn't know what a party like that would look like. Spilling one's blood, swearing an oath, and then snacks didn't exactly seem to fit well together.

Nerluce wasn't kept wondering for much longer as one of the third years jumped up onto a table that had been dragged into the center of the room. His name was Doite and he was one of the more popular guys. Nerluce had seen him around and they were on friendly terms. He remembered Nerluce's name at least and would say hello whenever they passed one another. Though, he said hello to everyone.

"Alright I think that's all of us," Doite said, clasping his hands together. "Second years, as is the long, long tradition at Ethera, it is our pleasure as third years to host a party in your honor." He smirked.

Nerluce didn't like this one bit.

"Everyone grab your coin purses and anything you need in case you die tonight. Then we head out!"

"Head out?" Eko mouthed in shock.

"We're leaving Ethera?" Lyana asked, her eyes wide with surprise. "Are the teachers really just going to let us leave?"

"I think so," Nerluce said.

"I mean if it's a long-standing tradition maybe that means they're the ones sponsoring it," Corbett said, his brows knitted together. "Regardless, I don't know if the third years will let us refuse."

Hamelin hummed in agreement.

"Gods if we all get kicked out for this..." Jurine said, shaking her head.

"They won't kick all of us out," Eko said, firmly. "They need to have some Seraphs at the end of the day."

They all agreed to that reluctantly and followed their seniors out the door.

The sun was setting at this point but no one was around. They must all be in the dining hall. Nerluce tried to think back to a year ago but he couldn't remember a time when all of the second and third years disappeared for an evening. Then again, the first years had more exams than any of the other years so he might've been so caught up in the frenzy of last-minute studying he hadn't noticed much of anything.

Or maybe not. Nerluce hadn't been an avid studier last year. He might've just gone to bed early, or stayed an extra bit with Eden so he wouldn't feel as bad watching Jurine and Eko study. It really was a miracle that he managed to pass all of his classes that first year.

The trek down the mountain was quiet. The trek down the mountain was always quiet. They'd run down it more than a few times. Once Taayir had them blindfolded and made them try and find their way back up with what remained of their senses. They worked in pairs at that time. It hadn't been fun stumbling around in the dark without a clue of where he was going, but it had been fun to watch Lyana do it the next day.

Nerluce didn't think he'd manage to make it up the mountain blindfolded again, but he did think he knew the path up and down well enough that with his eyes open it was easy to get to and from Ethera.

It gave Nerluce a little bit of comfort at least, knowing that he would be able to make it back to the safety of his bed if something went amiss. The third years didn't stray from the path at all until they finally turned down the road that Nerluce knew would lead them into the village that was nearest Ethera.

Nerluce's brows pressed together. What were they going to do there that they couldn't do in Ethera?

"Oh," Corbett said, suddenly and very, very loudly. "We're going drinking."

"We are?" Lyana asked, her attitude brightening considerably. "Gods, I haven't been able to have a good glass of wine in ages."

"Well whatever they drink here is not wine, be warned," Corbett said.

"It is too wine. Just rice wine." Nerluce rolled his eyes. "It just happens to be way more effective than your western wine. I had to drink like two bottles of that grape stuff to get me drunk. I don't want to spend half of my night pissing."

Corbett made a face. "You drink wine at dinner, not to get drunk."

"Then you're not drinking it properly," Jurine said. "Why waste your taste buds on something bitter?"

"It's not bitter," Lyana said. "It tastes good."

"Exactly!" Corbett said.

"I feel as though I am the only one who's never drunk before," Eko muttered to themselves, shaking their head in astonishment.

Nerluce and Jurine snapped their heads towards their roommate at the exact same time. "Eko you've never been drunk before?" Nerluce asked, skipping over to wrap his arm around Eko's shoulders. "That's basically a rite of passage."

"No," Eko said, lifting Nerluce's arm from them. "I've never drunk alcohol before. Ever."

"What?" Jurine asked, slipping her arm around the other side of Eko's shoulders. "Eko, we have got to fix that right now. Everyone has got to get drunk at least once in their life. Here in the north, we say you aren't an adult until the first time you puke."

Eko still made a face at Jurine but didn't remove her arm from themself.

Nerluce huffed as Jurine and Eko walked ahead. "I feel as though Eko likes Jurine more than they like the rest of us."

"You're just now noticing?" Lyana asked, elbowing Nerluce. "Come on, let's see if your northern wine is really as bad as Corbett is making it out to be. I think that he's just a lightweight." She winked at him and both she and Nerluce ran ahead to the tavern, leaving Corbett sputtering behind them.

Tonight Nerluce wouldn't study. He wouldn't practice magic. He wouldn't even go for a run. Tonight he would drink himself dizzy among his friends. How strange his life had become that this - something he would do almost every night in his homeland - had become a rare occurrence for him. Something that was only done in times of celebration. It seemed coming to Ethera really had changed him.

As Nerluce took his first sip, he wondered if his father would be proud. Then he decided to down the entire thing.