“Today the people of Potomia celebrate the anniversary of their independence with massive parades and a day of holiday for the nation. Potomian calvary and phalanxes march from Pontus to Menek in a demonstration of their military prowess as the Potomian navy maintains extra vigil along their borders to ensure their day of celebration goes unmolested by its neighbours. Of note is the presence of a Traxian and Lucurian delegations bringing gifts for the festivities, a sign that relations between Potomia and its neighbours are always improving.”

- Forward Pont! News From Pontus, “Independance Day!”

When the civil and scholastic affairs class finally came to an end, Sophie was ready to smash her head against the desk. Though the material was interesting enough; the first unit being a study on Arterian trading houses and their management styles. Most of the class had just been spent on students introducing themselves, something that Sophie checked out on during the halfway point. It wasn’t that she didn’t care for who was there, for the class turned out to have quite the interesting menagerie of nobles. It was because she had picked the seat near the window and the sun’s beams, pleasant at first, soon heated her up until she was on the verge of falling asleep. Aryana at least, was able to keep her somewhat focused with the occasional prod or two to her sides.

Class mercifully ended at some point and Aryana had to practically drag Sophie away, her body feeling like molasses as she sluggishly inched along the corridors to their next class. To her great relief, their next class was on the other side of the William’s Center, meaning that she at least had a few extra steps to walk off her fatigue.

The halls were packed with other students, the full might of the Academy brought onto bear as Sophie’s cohort now joined normal everyday throngs of students already attending classes. Dozens of other students and staff scurried about, their uniforms an assortment of blues, greens, purples and reds. A few stood out with more regal formal pants, perhaps one of the few bits of their outfits that were actually left unstandardised. Accessories too, seemed to be left up to the discretion of the student, Sophie having noticed an older student or two proudly wearing rings or jewellery on them.

When they arrived at their next classroom, the door opened up to a semi circular room with large rows of curved tables and chairs. Most of the seats were already filled by excited students, some already having formed small groups with each other. To Sophie’s surprise, in the corners of the room were some beastfolk and lizardfolk students, their furred and scaly forms standing in stark contrast to the humans around them.

Realising how awkward it would be to stare, Sophie quickly averted her gaze and glanced around the room, hurriedly gesturing to some free seats as she dragged Aryana along. The two of them carefully made their way past the other students, ending up behind two wolf folk and their human friend. The two groups traded pleasant if reserved smiles of acknowledgement between each other and Sophie could see Aryana was not as quick at avoiding her gaze. One of the wolfborn noticed the redhead’s glances and winked cheekily, the act sending Aryana into a frenzied blush as she tried to bury her head into the hardwood desk.

“Sorry.” The brown furred one grinned apologetically at Sophie, “Aatemo’s a bit of a prankster. I’m Tavaeia, by the way. Nice to meet you.” The lupine figure stuck out her surprisingly not as furry hand.

“Uhh… Sophie. LIkewise I guess, nice to meet you.” Sophie hesitantly accepted the handshake, wondering what to do as the wolf continued to stare at her.

Perhaps having caught onto Sophie’s concern, the wolf blinked back her surprise before giving her a nod, “Sorry, I’m a bit surprised at how informal that was, is all.”

“Huh?”

“You’re not like the other elves, they always say how wonderful it is to meet another so connected to nature before launching into a speech about their heritage and mine. As if I need them to tell me where I’m from.” Tavaeia scoffed.

“Uh... sorry to dash your hopes?”

“Don’t be, I think it’s about time we met an elf that’s different. Ain’t that right?” She turned to the other wolfkind and received a blank look in return. “Ugh. Savage.” She grumbled under her breath. “Ahem, Temo. Meet Sophie, and of course, that’s Aatemo.”

The gray furred wolf nodded before beaming a smile at her. “A pleasure to meet you, my resplendent lady.”

“Uhh, likewise.” Sophie replied while casting a quick look at Tavaeia, who only rolled her eyes in response.

“He’s always like this.” Tavaeia sighed.

“That’s not a fair statement.” Aatemo whined.

“Tch. Forget him.” Tavaeia shrugged before beaming at the third member of their posse, “This here is Leon! He’s a first year student like us and from Gratia.”

“Nice to meet you, miss.”

“Likewise.”

“And finally…” Tavaeia looked to the still in hiding Aryana, her glance prompting the entire group to look over.

Sophie gave Aryana a small prod to the side and spurred the girl into action. The redhead furtively sat back up and met everyone’s gaze, sinking a little further each time before pausing on Sophie.

“Introductions.” Sophie spoke.

“Ahh… ummm… ahhh… hi.” Aryana stammered out.

“Hi.” Sophie giggled, “But not to me, to them.”

The fierce embarrassed blush still had not escaped from Aryana’s face and Sophie swore she could feel the heat radiating from her. Thankfully, with another firm glance shared between the two, the redhead finally turned to the others and nodded.

“Umm… ahh… nice to meet you all. I’m Aryana.”

“Leon. A pleasure.”

“Aatemo at your service, beau-”

“Tavaeia, excuse my idiot friend.” Tavaeia smacked Aatemo's arm.

“Hey, that’s a little rude.” Aatemo barked.

“Stop trying to flirt with everything that breathes.” Tavaeia snarled.

“What?! That’s not what-”

Sophie let the two argue and gave Aryana another small prod, drawing the girl’s attention to her. To her surprise, she found the makings of a small smile on the redhead’s face. She’s having… fun?! Sophie almost chuckled out loud but elected to share the quiet moment with her friend and beamed at Aryana. Ary looked a bit sheepish but happy and beamed back. Oh ho, she does seem like she enjoys this.

Happiness however, was fleeting. Professor Azkas Tarsrim was a red scaled lizard folk, standing almost seven feet tall. He carried himself with a haughty sense of pride and cold calculating intellect tucked behind his eyes. He had entered the classroom soon after Sophie had chatted with the wolfborn, taking quick stock of all the students before he bellowed out in a commanding tone for everyone to settle down. From there, he barely even introduced himself before he assigned everyone a small stack of worksheets, telling them all to fill it out to the best of their ability as he will use it to gauge everyone’s skill level in order for him to better fulfil his goals.

It turned out to be the most stressful two hours of her life at the Academy so far. The test itself was styled in a similar way to their entry exam. But instead of general questions, it was dozens upon dozens of mathematics problems that seemed to even make the cheery wolf folk sink in despair. If that wasn’t enough, the second half of the packet contained mini essay topics that asked them to solve it using logical methodology or at least in a logical way. Thankfully, most students seemed at least competent enough judging by how often pages were turned in the room. Though there were two stood out ones amongst the forty odd students.

Aryana and some guy with dark brown almost black hair stood up at the same time. The two of them had taken only about an hour when they rose from their seats. Though Aryana constantly glanced at Sophie for reassurance to which the half elf just smiled and signalled for her to go and enjoy her day. A genius, I knew it! Since that entry exam, I had my suspicions. Aryana’s a fucking genius. Who the hells can even understand this crap?!

The guy and Aryana then proceeded to walk towards the professor and hand their tests in. The lizard gave them his affirmation for them to leave before he eagerly examined their papers. Sophie could hear the barely audible hiss that escaped the professor. The man was either extremely disappointed or extremely impressed, but judging by how his cold expression softened slightly, Sophie could surmise that both the guy and Aryana were just gifted in this respect.

At the end, Sophie found herself and Leon the last two to leave. Reluctantly handing over a test that she didn’t feel that confident in. The professor, at least, seemed satisfied by the day’s results and excused the two of them quickly enough.

The two traded relieved glances, their overlapping sighs prompting them to share a light chuckle. Leon then excused himself to go reconvene with Tavaeia and Aatemo, leaving Sophie to head off to find Aryana.

To her delight, shock, and horror. It only took Sophie reaching the exit to William’s Center to find Aryana diminutively hunched over a seat, reading what appeared to be a book or study materials. Sophie found it endearing when Aryana visibly perked up, the sparkle returning to her eyes as her thin lip turned into a joyful smile. But on the other hand, despite knowing they didn’t set a place to meet, Sophie found herself worrying about how the girl simply sat around for an entire day waiting for her. I just hope she’s not becoming too dependent on me though… Sophie smiled back at her, reaching out and giving Aryana a gentle pat, it doesn’t feel too bad.

“Hungry?” Sophie asked.

“A little.” Aryana grinned.

“Bored?”

“Very.”

“Lunch?”

“Lunch!”

“Alright, come on then.” Sophie pulled Aryana up, “Suppose I kept you waiting long enough.”

Aryana stuck her tongue out and bounded out the building, Sophie casually following in her wake. By the seven hells, at this rate she’ll completely leave me behind. Sophie’s own grin faltered, she’ll leave me behind, huh. And Eva… Eva’s got the brawn and the brains, so what use am I there? What can I actually-

“Sophie. Hurry up! You stinky hatire.” Aryana beckoned.

Sophie sighed, just like with everything else, a problem for another time. But what happens then? When everything finally comes crashing together. Sophie allowed herself one last shudder at the distressing thought before leaving it behind, for now, she had a more important task. Eat lunch with Ary. She let out a small breath of air and smirked, at least the here and now is still fun. I suppose that’s all I can ask for.

“Sophieeee.”

“Coming.”

When they walked into Griffin hall, Sophie almost froze at the familiar yet still different scents that she smelled. Griffin was the dining hall that catered to Western Cyndralian tastebuds, one that included the familiar flavours of home. At first the duo was almost at a loss for what to do, the various food stations filled to the brim with different dishes from various nations. Alongside that, the dining hall itself was quite packed with students for the lunch hour, though a bit less excessively than the line that snaked out of Solara hall just for getting in. I guess there’s quite a lot of people who enjoy imperial cuisine. Or just a lot of imperials.

“Sophie.” Aryana hissed.

“Yeah?”

“What are you gonna get?”

“Probably something from there.” Sophie pointed to a corner featuring Carradorian foods. There’s just something nice about eating food from home.

“Ohhh. Let’s go, let’s go.” Aryana urged.

Sophie grinned and led her to the food line, pleasantly surprised by some of the offerings there and more disappointed at the generic ones. Sophie settled for a classic braised pork roast served with a side of ground vegetables, a slice of rye bread, and a potentially overly generous portion of simmered red cabbage. Aryana had followed her order to a tee, her plate looking much like Sophie’s except for an extra slice of bread.

For the briefest of moments Sophie was almost worried, worried that the food would not be to Aryana’s liking when the girl simply started gleefully chomping away. I forget she’s from the Frostwinds sometimes, probably everything might look fancy to her. With a sly chuckle Sophie began digging in as well, cutting off a chunk of pork and spooning a bit of the cabbage as well. Sourness, savouriness, bitterness and a hint of sweetness assaulted her taste buds. The meat was juicy and well seasoned though a bit tough, the cabbage was decently braised with all the flavours she expected; perfectly tart with just a little bit of added sweetness that dissolved in her mouth. There was a strange sensation that followed the flavours, a familiar buzz in the back of her mind as she remembered what they tasted like. They tasted of home. How nostalgic.

The two traded a few looks between themselves as they quietly munched away, the sacred act of having a good lunch taking precedent. Sophie was halfway through the dish when she felt an uncomfortable sensation tingle down her spine and tried to stealthily search for the reason. After combing through the crowd and taking another bite, she could feel the hairs on her neck rise once more and instinctively turned around. Almost instantly she felt her stomach drop as whatever good mood she had vanished.

Eyes like Eva’s were boring into her skull, but the expression they were on did not match Eva’s at all. From a few tables away, Eva’s elder brother Mortiz was glaring at her. Sophie pretended not to notice and continued looking around, but she knew he definitely saw her. Fucker, Sophie cursed. She never quite understood why Eva’s brothers despised her so much, even Eva could only assume it was because of jealousy at Eva for acquiring such a loyal retainer at a young age. But even then, it was only speculation and Sophie got the feeling that they weren’t exactly fully racist as the Traxians were against the elves. Embarrassed or disappointed at having to take in an elven orphan, Sophie could understand, as the Duke and Duchess were. Yet she could feel something more visceral and deep from their hatred of her, and it always made her uncomfortable. This might be a problem, got to meet up with Eva and let her know he’s clocked onto me.

“Sophie?” Aryana mumbled through a mouthful, the girl clearly having picked up that something was wrong.

“Huh? Uh… nothing you need to worry about. Just a…a bad feeling is all.” Sophie lied.

Aryana frowned but tepidly nodded, “If you so so. Just be careful, okay?”

“Heh.” Sophie grimaced, “Yeah, I will.”

“Mmmhmm.” Aryana nibbled on some pork, “You’re always getting hurt.” She stated, her expression dropping.

“I know, I know.” Sophie smiled softly, “And how are you enjoying the meal?”

“Hmm?” Aryana looked surprised at the sudden change of subjects, “Umm, it’s good!” She beamed, “It’s food from your home right?”

“Yup! Braised pork and red cabbage. A classic from Carrador.” Sophie felt a wistful expression overtake her, “Though I’d personally prefer the version with pork knuckles,” She giggled, “super crunchy and just as tasty. Often comes with fermented cabbage too, ugh, now I want it.” She frowned, “Sadly, I didn’t see any here.”

“Mmm, sounds nice.” Aryana smiled.

“It is. Come to think of it, what do you usually eat?”

“What do you mean? Like the gravy, vegetables and rice back in the city?”

“No, no. I mean like back home, in the Frostwinds. What do you usually eat? Err, if you’re alright sharing that is.” Sophie quickly reassured her, noticing how she immediately shifted uncomfortably at the mention of her home.

“Whatever I could grow or farm I guess.” Aryana replied with a look of contemplation on her face, “Though if you’re asking about the tribes. Then from what little I remember I guess it’d be mainly milks, cheese, vegetables and heh, lots and lots of soups. Didn’t get to eat much with the others obviously.”

Sophie cringed, her own innocuous questioning had completely demolished the mood for the both of them. Idiot. To her surprise however, Aryana then broke into a smile, a bit sad looking, but a smile.

“Ary?” Sophie cautiously asked.

“Mmhmm?”

“You alright? And uh… sorry for bringing back any bad memories.” Goddess above, could I not just word things better?

Aryana tilted her head sideways before giggling slightly.

“Ary?”

“It's... whatever, I'm fine. I’m just thinking how nice it is to eat with people. I can talk, I can eat. And it’s just more fun. With you, the siblings, Eva and... yeah. Heh, it is fun.” Her expression dropping again.

Sophie was about to ask why she started frowning when she realised who Aryana had left out. Anna and Mila. Shit, I hope they’re alright, Sophie sighed, guess the moods are just gonna stay down today from now on, huh? “Yeah, yeah you're right.”

With that, the two settled down once more to finish the rest of their meal, this time in a far more tense silence. But as they reached the end of their meal, they were also reaching the end of their time together. The second half of the day was to begin soon and with it, the knowledge that they would be in classes in different parts of the campus, that they’d be separated. Aryana looked conflicted and Sophie could only offer a reassuring grin as they left the dining hall.

"Still a little miffed at having to take separate classes?" Sophie inquired.

"Meh." Aryana shrugged.

“You’ll be fine, Ary.”

“Mmm.” Aryana grunted.

“Think of it this way, worse comes to worst, it's classes on subjects you’re interested in. So even if it sucks, you’ll learn something useful to you.”

“I guess.”

“On the other hand, what you’re studying could really help me out.”

“Huh?”

“Herbology and alchemy means that you might eventually qualify to gather ingredients and even brew potions, right? Means less trips to a healer for me or just less pain if I do get hurt.” Sophie pointed out.

“Huh.”

“Magical studies? Well… I mean I can’t do magic. And ‘sides, if you are with the siblings or see them more often; it’s friends you know and they can impart their knowledge. Could even end up building something useful for our adventures!”

“Like their battery thingy?”

“Yeah, like the mana battery.”

Sophie watched as Aryana pursed her lips, her face scrunched together as she tried to muse on Sophie’s words. Sophie found herself thoroughly entertained at Aryana’s moment of epiphany, the girl’s eyes filled with a nascent sense of determination that wasn’t there before. Heh, she looks so cute when she’s all fired up.

“Mmm! You’re right! I’ll learn all I can to become the best support a knight can have.” Aryana declared.

At that, Sophie could only smile and nod. “That sounds like a plan to me! So do your best in class alright?”

“Grrr, fine. But you’re not getting rid of me that easily.” Aryana growled as she looped her arm through Sophie’s, “I’m walking with you until your building at least.”

Sophie giggled at her determination and allowed her arm to be hooked, “Heheh, that sounds like a good enough plan to me.”