Azlyn curled herself into a ball, her legs wrapped up to her chest and balancing a textbook on her knees. Her hands held the edges of the front and back. She was older, around the age of fourteen. She started attending the academy away from the archipelago as a full time student, learning all she could about the world. Her memories as a child growing up on the Isle of Val were like a distant memory, but she was still fairly close with G’raha Tia and Krile. 

It was actually Krile whom she was doing this research for. According to Archon Baldesion, Krile had acquired this strange new power. She could hear the whispers of people’s thoughts, and from the sounds of it; she was having a tough time adjusting. G’raha Tia and Azlyn treated her as they usually did, but Ejika—he changed. Or more like he became more of a jerk than usual. He was jealous of most of them—and the one who bore the brunt of that envy was Krile. 

Not only had she been gifted, she also had been adopted by the archon himself. And the archon made a request of his students to research into this phenomena—wanting to normalize it for Krile during her adolescence. This inflamed Ejika, but he begrudgingly did as was told. It didn’t stop him from his snide commenting. 

Krile was struggling with it the most, hearing the thoughts of the people she brushed by. She didn’t intend to use her power, but it came out involuntarily. Of course Archon Baldesion wanted to know more on it, and how she acquired the gift. But Krile had explained to them that she had heard the summons from Hydaelyn herself. She even repeated the same words Azlyn had heard all throughout her childhood. 

Hear—feel—think—

It made the girl wonder if perhaps she too possessed such a gift—after all it would explain her innate ability to learn new things. She wondered how she was able to pick up on the languages she studied—it made her work at the Studiem that much easier at any rate. She was still halfway in writing her dissertation however.

But returning back to the gift itself... she couldn’t hear people’s thoughts like Krile. She wondered if it was the same thing she had or not. She thought of writing a letter back home, asking her dad about it in more detail... And yet, she decided against it.

She also kept her secret of the voice and the black cloaked individual to herself. The last thing she needed was for the others to worry about her. She sighed, wondering what should she do. Her brain was tired from reading too much literature, and her body was screaming for something to do. 

“Knock knock!” Azlyn popped her head up from the book as a slightly older miqo’te male resembling G’raha Tia burst through her dorm door. She would have scolded him but couldn’t because she was guilty of doing the same thing to him in his dorm. The Studiem had separate facilities for the males and females. And they frowned upon fraternization.  

He stared at her with piqued interest. “Guess what I learned today!”

Azlyn smiled, closing her book. “More about the Circle of Knowing?”

G’raha Tia bzzt’d her with a zipping sound from his lips. “Nuh uh.”

“Uh, an abundance of aetheric crystals being stolen by the beast tribes?”

“No. Not that either.” 

Azlyn was having a hard time reading her friend. “Oh!” She snapped her book with a firm clasp. It was then the simple answer came to her. Of course it had to be about the Allagans. "What'd else you find out about the history of the Allagans?"

“There’s a ball coming up in a month doofus! Who are you going with?” G’raha rubbed the side of his face like he was embarrassed she didn’t know. “You don’t have to have your nose stuck in current events all the time!”

“Oh, you’re right I didn’t know that. I never paid attention to it I guess.” Azlyn shrugged, returning to the book in her hands. She almost cracked it back open but found it snatched before she could find her spot. G’raha Tia was leaning on her small couch above her holding the book up. 

“Azlyn, I’m saying this for your benefit, so please promise to live a little bit of your life. This is a perfect social opportunity!” G’raha explained with ease before Azlyn tried to snatch her book back. He dodged her attempt with a wide grin. “I want a promise!”

“Fine already, I’ll go—but I don’t have a dress or anything.”

G’raha Tia looked like she had three heads. “Just send a letter home asking your mom. She’d make you a lovely outfit!” 

Azlyn smiled. “Sure, I’ll get right on that. Are you going Raha? Do you have an outfit?”

He nodded. “Of course I’m going! Maybe I’ll find the love of my life!”

Azlyn rolled her eyes. “Right, so you can lolligag around her saying sweet nothings in her ear. What was the last one you said before: ah! My love for you is as deep as the sea, and strong as the oceans wave.” She moved off her couch to approach him. She had to think quick before he darted out the room with her book. She pretended to fan her face as she mimicked his last girl friend. “Oh Raha, you’re such a smooth talker, I Iove the way you express yourself.” 

G’raha Tia flushed red at her play, and moved over to the window. The open pane allowed the air to cool his face. “Too bad she and I broke up. The love was overwhelmed by the vicious riptides beneath the churning waves.”

She snuck up beside him and wrapped her fingers around the spine of her book, only she felt him pull it back. He smirked down at her with a confident look. “I know what you’re after, you’re parlor tricks are poor comparatively to my valiant insight.”

She stuck her tongue out before doing the next thing on her mind—tackling him to the ground to get her belongings back. He had not anticipated the lunge, for the full frontal attack seemed least likely. Now the two were wrestling on the floor of her dorm room grasping for the same book. Azlyn almost had it, but he managed to shake her off and roll to the side. He mischievously shook the book before flipping back toward her door. 

“Raha! Come back!” She yelled, but the hall was empty upon his perfect escape. And with her book too. “Damnit.”

She gave chase, only to lose his trail at an open window in the adjacent hall. She looked out the window, her arms propping her out halfway to see if she could see his retreating back. It didn’t take long before she found him, running past the covered outdoor hall that led past the training facility. She made a split second decision to determine whether it was worth it to continue the chase, or wait for him to give up and come back after several hours. She lifted her leg up onto the pane, about to jump out, but a firm hand grabbed ahold of her clothing from behind. 

“What are you doing?” Azlyn turned around to find herself face to face with the dorm matron Marolithe. Her scrupulous glance made the girl sigh. Azlyn looked down at the grounds. She lost her opportunity to catch up. 

“Nothing, I’ll have to get my book later.” She replied before shaking her head. She was pulled back in by the matron who narrowed her eyes. She was a tall Elezen woman, with slightly graying hair. She gave the Au Ra Raen teen a disapproving stare, to which the girl started to feel nervous. 

“Young girls should not be jumping out from third story windows to retrieve a book.” The woman sighed as if bothered by what could have happened. Azlyn kept her eyes lowered. If she said G’raha Tia was there, it’d cause more of a problem. Why? Because it was the girls only dorm. He technically shouldn’t have been there. 

“You’re correct, I will avoid such things in the future.” Azlyn hoped to escape before she received another stern lecture, but that was not possible. Marolithe placed her hands on her hips.

“Some of the ladies are preparing their studies quietly and without any troubles, why can you not be like them? Always tracking in mud at the entrance, always ripping your clothes, breaking the rules and curfew—at this point, shouldn’t you be more concerned about housekeeping and cooking for your future household?” The matron, was what Azlyn liked to refer her as a racist and a classist. She catered to the daughters of highly prominent or highly respected families over the ladies who didn’t have any connections to high society, or famous parents. Azlyn’s parents were not famous, but they did work under Archon Baldesion.

Did that help her in this case? No—no it didn’t. It also didn’t help that she was one of the very few Au Ra living there. 

Sighing, Azlyn bowed. She hoped that it would end this farce. 

The woman just sighed loudly. “This is why the domans were taken over by the Garleans. Your people were nothing more than doormats.”

Azlyn clenched her fists. Every once in a while she’d say cruel things like this. But to insult her origin of birth... She bit her lip, hoping this would end.

“Matron Marolithe, there’s a problem downstairs. A couple of girls seem to have lost their favorite brooch.” Another voice, a familiar voice, broke the tension that was rising in Azlyn’s stiffened muscles. 

The woman turned to their new guest, a warm voice sputtered from the same lips that just insulted her previously. “Yes of course, I shall head that way now. Thank you Miss Krile.”

The Elezen bowed courteously over to the Lalafell, ignoring Azlyn as she walked away. Azlyn lifted herself up from her bow with eyes red with tears. Her frustration was evident as she turned away from her friend. 

“Come with me.” Krile replied suddenly, reaching up to Azlyn’s hand and walking her out from the hall. She led them out of the dorm entirely, and outside by the growing agriculture by one of the committees. Azlyn took the time during the walk to calm her rising emotions. 

“I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to listen.” 

Azlyn blinked, seeing Krile look away nervously. It must have been about her thoughts—or the incident about the dorm matron. Either way, it was something that she still felt sorry for. The Au Ra shook her head, assuring her that wasn’t the case. 

“No—it’s not that. I lost my cool for a moment. Thank you Krile.”

The brown haired girl nodded, pulling herself up to the second rail to sit. At this height sitting, she was able to be at eye level with her friend. “I don’t recommend punching her though, that’d result in an expulsion.”

Azlyn laughed, apparently her thoughts were quite obvious. 

“No, I mean it, I didn’t even need this power to know you wanted to punch her. I wanted to send her flying with a good Lalafell kick!” Krile kicked one of her legs up in a straight upward moment. Azlyn chuckled again. 

It was then that Krile leaned over with her hand just beneath Azlyn’s eye. She caught a tear that threatened to fall and frowned. “Regardless, she shouldn’t have said what she said. You are more than that. I just wanted you to know that.” 

Azlyn was a bit surprised, but nodded.

“And the Domans are not doormats. If your mother heard her say that, I think we’d be witnesses to a murder.” Azlyn smiled, as she agreed with Krile’s reassurances. 

“I should have jumped when I had the chance.” Azlyn said, her voice betraying a slight tremor.

“And why were you rushing out the window? The third floor no less.”

“Oh, Raha took my book. He was just being himself.”

Krile narrowed her eyes. “I should give him a good smack for that. Come, let’s find his hiding spot. We’ll set him straight.” Azlyn wiped her face with her hands. Nodding in agreement. “It shouldn’t be too hard since he’s always climbing things.” 

Azlyn nodded, she too had an idea where he was at. Perhaps he climbed himself up the tallest building he could find within the mile radius. They walked with purpose, and before long they found their quarry. He was laying on top of the round, circular brick building of administration. He was reading the book without a care in the world, not knowing the seething look he was getting from Krile. Azlyn scanned the building for possible footholds, and determined a safe place to start climbing. She stepped off to the side where some thick sturdy vines were growing up the side. They were thick and lush with life. 

Krile sighed, knowing that she was safer staying down below. “Kick him off the roof, I’ll deal with him after that.”

Azlyn gave a thumbs up. Silently, she climbed up the vines, being careful not to lose her grip. Over the years she got pretty good at climbing, although the heights were a bit hard to swallow. She hadn’t gotten over her fall the last time when she was nine. 

By the time she reached the roof, a pair of feet appeared. She looked up from the edge to see G’raha grinning down at her from ear to ear. He held up the book like a prize in one hand, but offered his other hand to help her up. 

“I was wondering what was taking you so long. I noticed Krile seething below. I figured you were coming up after that.”

Azlyn smirked. “She’s going to beat you up with a good Lalafell kick for stealing.” 

G’raha stopped grinning suddenly and quirked his head. “You okay? Your eyes are puffy.”

Azlyn accepted his extended hand up to the roof. When her feet were firmly on the roof she gave her aloof response. “Allergy season.”

Not believing her, he gave back her book. “Right. But here I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

Down below, Krile yelled up. “G’raha Tia you better get your butt down here before I come up there!”

Azlyn smiled. “I’m fine, it was nothing you did. Now come and accept your punishment.” She laughed, turning back so she could climb back down. She stowed her book under her arm and slowly climbed. G’raha just jumped down from the roof, landing impeccably. 

The Au Ra girl gritted her teeth as she got closer to the ground. 

Krile came up to G’raha. He wasn’t anticipating the Lalafell girl to stomp on his foot so he started dancing on his other foot nursing his injured one in his hands. It was almost comical to see. 

Azlyn finally made it down and joined her friends.

“That’s for Azlyn’s tears you jerk. She had to cover for you with that terrible Dorm Matron. Can you not jump from windows like a foolish cat?”

G’raha continued hopping. “Ow—ow—ow—I didn’t know—sorry sorry!”

Azlyn waved Krile off with her prize. “It’s all good, I have my book. No worries!”

“You should give him a piece of your mind too Azlyn, he can’t be storming into the girls dormitories like he owns the place.”

Azlyn froze, wondering what G’raha would say. And like clockwork he replied with a tense voice. Mostly from pain. “She visits the boys dorms too. It’s not just me. We watch the new feeds and do homework late at night!”

Krile turned her immediate attention to the Au Ra now. “This isn’t like the Isle of Val where we can just go to each other’s rooms! This is school!”

Azlyn scratched her cheek sheepishly. “It’s just a bad habit.”

“That needs to stop.” Krile replied, and the two sighed. They didn’t anticipate getting lectured by someone two years younger than them. 

“It’s not like we’re doing anything bad.” G’raha whined, testing his foot by adding a bit of weight to it. The slight pain coursed on the top of his foot, but it wasn’t too bad. Mild at most. 

“We’re students representing my foster family at school, let’s make sure we’re adhering to the rules set in place. No more sneaking into each other’s rooms.”

“Fine.”

“Okay.” 

The two looked at each other, both knowing that they probably were going to continue anyways. Krile noticed the look and sighed. 

“Don’t blame me if you two get expelled and hurt the order.”

Azlyn thought back to her mom and wondered what she would have done. Her father would have frowned, but wouldn’t have worried. After all when they were all smaller, they had sleep overs and slept together in the same rooms. Krile and Ejika also were involved so they understood how their sleepovers went.

“It’s fine—we just won’t get caught. Azlyn, you should focus on your stealth a bit more. That dorm matron has a bit of a problem catching you a lot.” He was referring to the previous times when she either broke the rules, broke curfew, disobeyed the class rules and interjected—something unheard of a student. Of course this happened when she first started at the school. She’d mellowed out since then. 

“Something to work on, I suppose.” She replied while Krile shook her head. 

“Let’s just go get food. I’m hungry.” G’raha announced and pointed to the cafeteria. 

“I have to work harder. My dad wanted a detailed letter on my exercises.” Krile tried to excuse herself, but Azlyn went to grab her hands. She smiled as she instantly caught the Au Ra girls thoughts in her head.

“You’ll let me practice on you? Are you sure?”

Azlyn nodded. She thought about yummy food and Krile’s stomach rumbled in response. “Okay fine, I’m hungry as well. Let’s be on our way shall we?”

The three walked in silence, Azlyn holding hands with Krile letting her read her thoughts as they walked. Azlyn thought of her homework, things she needed to get done, what she enjoyed to read, and carried this on until they arrived at the canteen. G’raha found a place for them to sit and they enjoyed a nutritional tradition of Sharlayan bread. It was a choke inducing experience, but scholars had no time to worry about preparing all types of foods. And students were required to eat the bread once a week. Or maybe it was a writ of sorts. 

Despite that, they choked down the food with a bit of difficulty and discussed about the future ball.

“Krile are you going to the ball next month, or no?” G’raha asked curiously. 

The Lalafell in question pondered. “I don’t think so. Too crowded for me, but I think I’m supposed to go back to the isle of Val next month. My father said he wanted to conduct some more research in person.”

Azlyn stated, “Give my regards to my parents for me!”

“Will do!” Krile nodded. 

G’raha stared at the two girls before shaking his head. “Aren’t girls supposed to be excited about dancing and boys and stuff at our age? Or are you two just weird?”

At which both Azlyn and Krile smacked G’raha. 

“I can’t help it if I have to go home.” Krile said

Azlyn shook her head. “You best be prepared Raha, if I go, I expect a few dances. And you better not step on my feet.”

G’raha picked up on the threat she insinuated. Nursing his feet, he looked back to her. “I think I should be the one concerned Azlyn.”

Krile laughed, Azlyn smiled sweetly, G’raha grinned and their day continued as usual. It was a day off from school, but tomorrow their instructional classes would resume. 

Azlyn went back to her room in a better mood than she had when she left previously. Her book was the last thing she thought about as she placed it down on her writing desk. Pulling her chair out to sit, the girl reached for her ink and quill, writing a quick letter home. She was a bit excited about the dance, and hoped that she’d be able to enjoy it with her friends.