Astrius Academy Dorms

Quin kept his calm as he took a deep breath. "His name is Iziti, but I heard other's call him Oculus." He said as he slowly lowered his hands down to the sweat shirt pocket. "I'm just getting the key, please don't shoot me." He pulled out the key and showed it to him. It had the room number on it. He slowly began to walk to the door. "Okay, I'll go outside and you lock the door and I'll unlock it with the key." He said as he walked out and shut the door. He waited until he heard the door latch lock.

Quin put the key into the lock and turned it. The door unlocked easily and he opened the door. "There, you can see that the key works. If you don't believe me go ask Iziti or the headmaster. I'm a new student here to study up on magic and it's uses, other than violence, so I can try to bring peace to my planet. But it seems violence is all people seem to care about. Perhaps coming here was not the best idea if this is how people treat the prince Eurythma around here, maybe I should go." He said trying to get his point across that killing him wouldn't end well.

The world around them seemed to go dark, very very dark in fact as Iziti entered into the world of Primaris' memories. Things were scrambled at first, skipping from point to point as the boy himself was trying to process just what exactly was going on with the world, his own memories were jumbling across each other in a sporadic display of thoughts and sound that hardly seemed to connect in any simple fashion that could be understood by any sane mind.

A brief flash of sunlight glittered off of the summer snows as it settled on the mountaintops. A far younger and far thinner Primaris stood, bare chested against the cold, shivering violently against the iron manacles around his slender throat weighed down on the raw and cracked skin underneath where it had scraped away his bare skin. There was a hissing sound behind him as coals were shifted by an iron poker and a lump of nervousness caught in his throat just moments before a rough hand clasped down painfully tight on his shoulder. He only had a moment to try to draw a frightened breath before a terrible pain exploded across his back along with the stench of searing flesh as he was marked, branded now and forever as nothing more than property. A slave.

The thoughts and pained memories of that day shifted and melted away like a house of sand in the morning tide, colours swirling and melding until they reformed once more into something new. He was stood outside, the snow all around him once more and the cold, still present but far less biting now against the thick robes that clung around him. He was knelt, along with a half dozen of his fellow serfs, behind his master, holding clasped in his hand was a small lantern that shone with a pale blue weirlight. He knew from what little he had been permitted to read that this only happened in the presence of beings of magic, no doubt as a result of being so close to his Magos, who stood before a great statue, arms raised as though he were trying to embrace it. They were knelt in a temple built of onyx and marble, with twisting pillars which held crawling serpents of ivory fastened upon them holding up nothing for there was no roof in this most holy of places. Primaris' knew he was supposed to keep his face down, he was not worthy of looking upon that statue- the statue of the Alovai, God of Gods, He who Guides, but he couldn't resist the simple pull. It was nothing more than a quick glance up but it was enough to sear the image into his brain. The statue was carved out of granite and it seemed the black robes of the Alovai were swirling around his majesty even though they were fixed in place, one hand was outstretched as though he were leaning forward to pull a friend up from the dirt and the muck of the world. And in that featureless face were affixed a pair of large yellow sapphires that shone like demons of nightmares in the faint blue light clutched in his fearful hands.

And then once again the memory shifted and tore away again, everything turned darker still as the blue light was replaced with a faint orange glow and those yellow lights seemed affixed before him... And yet... Now, the images before them weren't through Primaris' eyes, but rather from next to him. For Primaris' stood there, next to Primaris' One looked at the other who stared forwards, frozen but for a moment.
"What? But I'm... There? How?" His head snapped away from the memory of himself to look over to Iziti, a confused look in his eyes only for his mouth to fall open and him to step backwards a short step as his attention was drawn to something behind the boy.

There stood, with the plain and ordinary spear only just being discarded from gloved hands to be planted tip first within the very stone of the tower itself was the Alovai, looking every bit as he remembered from moments ago. A breath caught in his throat as the memory resumed once more, a memory that had only just been lived for himself moments ago. Just as his past self had done and still did next to him, he remained fixed in place, being utterly unable to tear his eyes away from the baleful golden eyes set within that mask of black.

He heard the same words that the ancient being had said to him only moments ago, hearing them with fresh ears gave him no clearer understanding of just who exactly who it was he was supposed to find. As the Alovai passed by Iziti without even breaking his stride at their presence he wondered whether this was the person he was supposed to seek out, it was clearly a being with great magical power and that no doubt elevated him far beyond Primaris' status. Thankfully it seemed the past version of himself and the Alovai didn't even know they were there as the memory continued onwards, and it was no small sense of trepidation that clutched the boys heart as he saw the masked beings hand lazily raise up to the past version of himself's face. And just as it had before, a searing pain tore through his entire being as the gloved fingers were pressed against the bare skin of his past selves forehead. It lasted just as long as it had the first time and was no less unpleasant for having experienced it before.

Even as he watched the conversation come to where he expected it to close suddenly as it had before something strange happened. It continued past where he should be able to remember. Where before everything had gone black and he had suddenly come to his senses in some strange bed on another world things carried onwards. Where the conversation abruptly ended he saw his own past self crumple onto the floor, his eyes rolling into the back of his head as he collapsed. The Alovai looked down at the white robed boy as he lay upon the ground for a moment before slowly turning on his heel and looking directly and purposefully at Iziti, cold contempt glowering within his golden eyes before everything once more went crashing into darkness with a feeling as though the memory was being forced close and would not open again.

"I see..."

Iziti was a little shocked...or maybe impressed, at Primaris. So he is not a normal human afterall...just physically he seems normal...unless, that thing did that on purpose...perhaps, in case anyone did go and do this?

Iziti knew that it was impossible for the Scribe to know where they were, who they were, and so on. In addition to that being a private viewing, it was impossible for anyone to have seen where they were, as it was a random placement and they could move around in the area containing the memory. In other words, he must have gotten lucky. Iziti did not panic and paid it no further mind, turning back towards Primaris.

That space at the end seemed interesting though, and Iziti sensed something...familiar?...about it.

"I hope you have some sort of detection ability" Iziti said, as he shrugged. "I hate to tell you, but that description described quite a few people here".

The timing...I wonder...

"What is it, Iziti?"

Zakar's voice entered his head naturally, without any energy or link. This was a secure private telepathic channel.

This guy...might have been sent to monitor or get close to Atrix...

"Atrix...you mean Millen's son?!"

Or Millen himself, or the headmaster, or such. But Atrix only just was discovered and enrolled, so it feels likely.

Yes, Iziti and Zakar had a good idea of who Primaris was sent to monitor. Zakar was a prince of the Rosetta Kingdom. And he knew about Millen, and the true story about what happened. So did the rest of the Royal Family once they reached a certain age, and a few others they trusted to help. They only discovered what really happened between The Hero and the Demon King afterwards, and by that time many crimes had already been committed, including against the Demon King himself. So, they helped Millen fade into a life of whatever he wanted.

Of course, they did this all discreetly, so the help was not that big. But it was enough for Millen to eventually sneak away on his own and not be bothered by people, everyone thinking the Demon King is dead.

As for Iziti, he knew because he occasionally worked for the Royal Palace. That was why he and his siblings had been able to show up here and attend. They still avoided all coming at once to prevent being found out, so many where scattered all over. But it meant they had a place to kick up their feet and take a breath. Iziti was the only one who possessed a power to detect Demon King Blood, no one else did, so when they were contacted by the Headmaster, Iziti was chosen to use examination on Atrix. Of course, to use it at full power he had to directly see Atrix's whole body without obstruction, which the Headmaster helped with.

"So, it seems like you have not eaten in quite awhile. Should we all go to the cafeteria?"

"Errr, Zakar, I should probably check on my roommate first. Besides, I want to tell him what to say in case my brother stops by. Otherwise, things could get messy".

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Iviri looked at the man. First, it was with shock. Then, a bit of paying attention. Then there was a bit of understanding. But there was also rage.

"Violence? You call this violence?"

Iviri looked at the one in front of him with his teeth clenched.

"You think peace is that easy to acquire?! You...you don't understand a thing about people..."

"Then in exchange for causing a huge uproar, why not show him as punishment?"

Suddenly, the conversation was interrupted by a white and gold tiger with lightning around it, staring down at both of them.

"Astera?!"

"Its partially your fault this all started. Or do I need to make you by force?"

Iviri looked at the tiger, his brother's Spirit Guardian, a little more before turning off his combat form. He immediately held his towel so it was in front of him, but Iviri was closer then before. Close enough for Quintin to see surgical scars all over his body. Most of them if not all of them would seem unnecessary.

"You are lucky" Iviri said as he found his stuff and quickly put them on after creating a wall using his power to project energy shields. "You get to at least have a chance to try and be what you want. Not everyone gets that. And don't think you know how bad violence can get, or that peace is easy to acquire".

Iviri finally stepped out again, fully dressed.

"Because you never know what someone lower might have gone through".

Quin sat down on his bed and looked at the scars that were visible, and the bar-code under the kid's eye.

"I won't pretend to understand what you or your brother have been through. However you shouldn't assume the worst of me either." He said before eying the tiger in the room.

"How was I supposed to feel coming to this planet to get away from a raging warlord bent on conquering everything, only to be threatened just for lying down in my own bed? For all I knew you were one of his assassins trying to kill me." He looked back to the kid. He didn't understand the anger this kid had, but he was sure it wasn't normal.

"But as far as violence goes, I may not know the worst it can get, but I've seen the horrors of war. I was one of the Elite Sonic Warriors and it had nothing to do with my bloodline. I've seen the aftermath of my father's wrath. I've walked through the medical centers and seen the sick, wounded and dying people. Not just the men, but women and children too. I've seen horrors that most can't imagine and caused a lot of them too. That was why I went to study the nonviolent forms of magic. My father won't stop when he conquers Eurythma, he will attack other planets as well. I don't believe that peace is going to be easy to acquire, but I know that violence only creates more violence. And you're right I don't know what anyone else has gone through any more than they know what I've been through, but I don't think of anyone as being lower than me even if I am a prince. I only said all the stuff about leaving to get the point across that I was irritated by being threatened for just being in my bed and that killing me wasn't a good Idea." He spoke calmly as he had been the entire time. Still not showing any signs of fear.

Primaris was still bowed forwards, his back starting to ache at the base of his spine as he remained motionless before Iziti. He was still trying to process what he had just seen and was struggling to even piece this whole world together, he had already chalked up the images of his past to whatever strange feeling the obviously more powerful boy had placed over him when he taught him all he knew of this world. He almost jumped when he realised that the two before him were actually addressing him.

"So, it seems like you have not eaten in quite awhile. Should we all go to the cafeteria?" That was Zakar, it seemed. The thought of food made his stomach contract painfully. It wasn't something he was unfamiliar with by any means, this hunger. He had spent many nights staring up at the sky through the iron bars of his small cell, the weight of his chains digging into his skin, too hungry to sleep, the thoughts of even the barest scrap of wheat playing through his mind like the song of silken harp strings. Though, he supposed it was to be expected all things considering since he seemed to have moments ago voided the last food he had eaten in countless life times.

He didn't get a chance to answer before Iziti spoke before him.
"Errr, Zakar, I should probably check on my roommate first. Besides, I want to tell him what to say in case my brother stops by. Otherwise, things could get messy". He straightened up again, though he kept his face averted from his betters.
"I will go where you command, Magos Iziti." His voice was low with the practiced monotone of one who had reverence beaten into him. It was only natural that Iziti would be a Magos, that great and powerful group of magiseers who ruled over lesser men like he through nothing more than the simple virtue of that they were born with the power to dominate. It was the will of the Alovai, he told himself, the weak obey or are destroyed by the strong and the strong vie with each other for strength, it was the natural way.

He would go where the Magos commanded.

He obeyed.

He would obey.

He had no other choice.

As the group (?) headed towards Iziti's room....

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Astera, watching this scene, stepped forward...and swept his paw across to smack both of them in the head!

"There. Both of you stop using antagonistic words towards each other. Now here are the options. You can settle this now by stoping this argument and leaving it be, or I beat you both into submission, tearing up everything in the process, and then you can apologize to each other in those states forcibly".

"Owwww!" Iviri yelled as he rubbed his head. "That was too hard!"

"If it was soft, you would not get it!"

Astera then looked over at the man. "Anyways, you both created this whole mess with how you handled it, so in the future do keep in mind just how sensitive one can be to words. Or I will make it worse for both of you".

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Iziti put his key into the door, turned and opened it to find Iviri, Quintin, and Astera.

"So...what happened here?"

Iziti actually already knew everything thanks to his link with Astera who told him everything, but he acted like he didn't.

"Nothing happened!"

"Oh good. We are getting some food. Want to see the Cafeteria Quintin? And Iviri....why do those clothes look damp? You didn't change into clothes without drying off first, right?"

"No no! Its just....the water I was drinking was in a bottle that got damaged, and it got a little on me! Its all fine!"

"Ah, okay then....so, shall we go get food?"

"Y..yes! Coming!"

When the tiger hit him, it suddenly became clear to Quin how much he was instigating this and the tiger's words made sense. Hit didn't even feel the urge to fight back as he normally would the instant anything had attacked him. "Sorry I took it so personal." Quin muttered before Iziti came into the room.

"Yeah, nothing much happened." Quin grinned his casual grin.

"Oh good. We are getting some food. Want to see the Cafeteria Quintin?"

"Well I already went there earlier when I was looking for you, the Headmaster is a weird one, but I didn't get to eat very much." Quin said as he heard his stomach growling.

Quin grabbed his headphones and put them around his neck. He didn't want to come off as a loner and people included you more in a conversation if they knew you could hear them. Granted he could listen to his music and have a conversation, but most people wouldn't know that.

"Good to see that you're on your feet." He chuckled to Primaris. "My name's Quintin, or Quin if you like sorry I didn't introduce myself to you earlier, you seemed a little out of it" He extended his hand to shake Primaris' as they went to the cafeteria.

Primaris followed a few steps behind Iziti, his hands folded in front of him and his head slightly bowed keeping his gaze averted from his betters. He tried his best to not listen into the conversation that was unfolding before him, it was not his place to eavesdrop and he had learned long ago by way of a sharp application of birch twigs that he was to stand silent and unobserved until he was called upon to service his masters whim.

He had to admit to himself though that his ears did prickle at the sound of food. The smell of warm bread was a constant wake up call when he was growing up, having the good fortune for his cell to be located just beneath the kitchens meant that though he was more often than not only eating the scraps and leftovers from his masters table he could at least dream of the taste of fresh bread, imagine the feeling of how it must be soft and warm rather than cold and stiff from sitting stale for hours. He was glad his body was used to such a hunger for his stomach did not growl at the idea of the petty portions he was so used to.

Once more followed behind, making sure to walk far enough away that nobody would assume wrongly that he was attempting to place himself as the equals of the Magos but close enough that he would be on hand should he require him. It took a moment for him to realise that someone was talking to him, the one from earlier who had sped past who introduced himself as Quintin.
"Ah.. I.. I thank you for your kindness, sir." His voice was low and lacking in emotion, a practised monotone that served to draw no ire from his betters. A confused look spread across his face like the blossoming of a rose as he looked down at the hand that was offered to him, having no idea how to address the action he simply blinked slowly, hoping that someone would explain before he caused some form of offence.

Quin could see the look of confusion on the young man's face. "Oh, I'm sorry. I sometimes forget that other cultures have different greeting habits." He smiled at the kid. Something seemed out of place about him, as if he wasn't on the same frequency as the others here. Quin was sensitive to subtle dimensional vibrations like these, he assumed he was from another universe and thought nothing more of it.

"So how's the music program here? I mean I know the school is for magic and science mostly, but there has to be some sort of extracurricular music program around here, right? Like a choir, glee club, or a band of some kind?" Quin asked hoping to find something that he would enjoy around here that didn't involve violence or training to fight.

"Oh good, everyone is getting along...music and arts, huh?"

Iziti couldn't help but smile a little when he heard that. It's good that at least some people have found what they want to do in life...then again, a few of us have as well. Ivera is a Detective after all...

"I have one idea. Watch this!"

"Wait, are you planning to..."

Suddenly, Iziti activated his Oculus...but revved it up at a power that was higher then normal. At the same time, it did not target them directly, but rather the location they were in. It was a combination of the Purple Oculus and the Red Oculus...to show something he experienced this morning.

The entire setting warped around them, to re-create the image. Suddenly, they were appearing to stand in the middle of one of the plaza areas on campus, even though they didn't actually move at all. At first, it seemed silent and peaceful, but the scenario was moving...and it moved to a particular spot on Campus, when something started to happen. At first, there were just a few students that had gathered. There were a number with injuries, which might imply battle, but the setting was peaceful.

And then, one of the Academy's bands came out. But this was not a normal band. Not just humans and elves and dwarves, but Beastfolk, Sentient Androids, Some sort of Plant Creature/person, and other humanoidish and even some blatant non-humanoid students showed up. Notably, they had the School Uniform on, even though it was optional several spares would be provided by the school, and it was meant for safety, but it also had benefits like being comfortable, and even helped deal with colds.

They had all sorts of instruments, old and new, ancient and futuristic. Some had enchantments, some had cybernetic modifications, but all at once they began to play and sing. It was a chorus that had beauty which surpassed reason and logic, and they even had a few people who danced, including a particular red haired scythe wielder, but that was besides the point since none of them had met him before....except Zakar.

The music not just permeated the soul, but those with injuries seemed to begin to heal and rejuvenate. But at the same time, it was not something that was made just to heal. It had a beauty to it, a magnificence, that even though they were not listening to it directly technically, a part of it could still be felt...if they attended in person, it would definitely be felt.

Colors and other special effects made from either magic or technology came out, and it was made into quite a display. A feeling of bliss and energy could be felt, like if one woke up feeling it would be a perfect day. It was as if the very concept of a true morning had been imbedded into them...and if one was to be there itself for this display, with all those members, it most likely would.

As it finally ended, Iziti stopped the performance.

"If we go to eat at one of the Plazas, even if they are farther then the cafeteria, we might be able to see them play again".

Quin was left in awe at what had just happened. His eyes were wide and he was moved to the point of crying. He was far more sensitive to vibrations and the emotions carried on them than the average person. The music was beautiful on so many levels that Quin couldn't help but weep at the beauty. He didn't care what anyone though of him for doing so. He was also enthralled by Iziti's cool abilities.

"That was... beautiful." Quin sniffled as he tried to regain his composure. "Yes I would love to see this in person, if everyone else wants to come too." He practically begged.

There was far more happening with Quin than one would be able to observe with standard perception.Quin didn't just want to see this music in person, he wanted to be a part of it, to help to create such beauty. But Quin was also enjoying the music on a physical level. Eurythmians have a unique ability to convert music into manna. It was a strange process that didn't create much manna, but depending on the complexity and the emotion carried by the piece of music, the potency of the manna could be quite high. The piece that he had just witnessed was enough to create the most potent manna he had ever felt. The trouble was that the manna created through this method had a byproduct that effected people like a euphoric drug if someone other than a Eurythmian were to tap into it and try to use it. Luckily for Quin, most people didn't have this talent. Quin, like most Eurythmians, had a naturally high tolerance to euphoric byproduct of the manna production, almost an immunity, but this piece was so nice it even had him feeling a little giddy and mellow.

"Alright then, if we are lucky it might happen again while we are there. Follow me".

"Oi oi, shouldn't I be the guide?"

"You want us to get lost?"

"...after you Iziti".

The group began to depart the dorms and head towards any one of the numerous plazas. However...

"Oh right...uhh, what does everyone want to eat for lunch? Pizza and Hamburgers? Pasta? Sushi? Roasted Flameboar? Is anyone a Vegetarian or have any allergies? That way I can find a place that will be good for everyone".

"I want Pizza!"

"I also want Pizza!"

Iviri and Zakar both announced they wanted Pizza in the same way. It seemed like they might have some common interests. Astrius Academy had a lot of student run shops in addition to the cafeterias, and there were even some professionally owned shops by corperations, chains, or literally family resteraunts and diners set up on campus to serve the overflowing student population. And because the student population was so diverse, it was impossible to go out of business pretty much if you set up shop in Astrius. So long as you could manage the potential risks of student experiments doing weird things.

So finding a place for all of them would be easy for Iziti, so long as he knew what everyone wanted to eat.

Quin was starting to get the munchies from the "music drug" as his people referred to it.

"I'm not sure what this pizza is, but I don't have any food allergies that I know of." Quin smiled. It seemed like everyone else wanted pizza and he was open to new experiences.

"Sure let's get pizza. If everyone else likes it, it must be good stuff."

He followed the others out to the shops and he was still excited about the huge musical group that he had seen.

"So do you think they're taking new people in the music group? " Quin asked to make small talk.

Primaris was perfectly content when Quins attention faded off of him again with an offhand comment, he hoped to himself that he had not done something to cause offence by recognising the gesture. As if anticipating just such a thing to happen he tried his best to fall to the back of the group where he could avoid causing any further trouble, it had been a while since he had drawn his masters ire and he was loath to feel the birch or worse once more. His neck still chaffed with the phantom memory of the iron collar around him.

It was until he picked his eyes up from the floor where they had been affixed did he realise that his surroundings had shifted. For a moment he felt his heart pang in hasty fear that he had once more been suddenly whisked away from where he had been before. But then he realised slowly that no, this was something altogether different. Instead of him actually being placed somewhere new, it was as though somewhere new had been brought to him, the world around him had changed but it felt... Off, old and stale as though this had all happened before.

Even before his eyes he saw as a band of mismatched figures began to play, he wasn't sure what made him feel most confused, the sight of the players or the sight of the instruments. All of which he saw before him in this strange vision was something beyond even his wildest imaginations, nothing he saw made a hint of sense to him and he was starting to realise that perhaps the world was far and away much bigger than Wolfsbane.

As he listened to the music however something in it felt... Discordant, like there was a sour note that persuaded its way throughout the tone of the song. He could feel the music, hear the tones which he knew in his heart should sound like glossimer and joy and yet something about them felt wrong. It was as though there was one player in the band was playing out of time with the others and trying to go unnoticed. Something about that one solitary off note that resounded through the rest of the music set the entire piece into chaos in his mind and he was perfectly glad that it ended when it did.

Oddly though, it seemed the others had found nothing but joy in the music, Quinn in particular finding so great as to go as far as openly weep at it. He felt a twinge in his throat at the thought of hearing the music again in person, though in this he kept his mouth firmly shut. He would go where he was commanded when he was bid. Either way, when the group made a move again he followed in tow, keeping a respectable distance to go unheeded.

His ears pricked once more at the mention of eating and of food as he followed silenty, though they were certainly speaking of foods he had never before heard of. There was a lurch in his stomach as they continued walking, he was all too aware of the fact he had voided the contents of his belly only a short while ago and was no doubt going to feel the effects of it all day. He only hoped that he was able to eat today though he doubted such a thing was likely unless he found somewhere he was able to scrounge up some scraps. Though he supposed there was likely already a system in place for the other indentured serfs, he wouldn't be surprised if he and any other newcomers would find themselves going hungry for a few days until their betters deemed them worthy of the privilege of eating.

Hayden woke up the next morning, not entirely sure of what had happened. He would have thought it was all a dream if not for Kaj lying in the bed next to him. He was still asleep so Hayden tried not to wake him. He wrapped an arm around him and rested his head against Kaj's chest. He listened to the sound of his heart beating rhythmically and he slowly drifted back to sleep holding onto him as though he were afraid he would run away.

Asta started to rub his eyes as he felt the morning sun rush into their room. The curse of having a dorm room that faces east, it was because the sun rose from the east and set in the west. In other words, every morning would be the same.
Still, it felt good to have the entire sun wrap his body in warmth, a pleasant warmth that felt enriching and energizing. So there were also benefits to having an east facing room.

He looked over next to the boy next to him, his identical twin brother Asti. They were both lying in bed naked with unkept messy hair, and with leaves scattered around them. They were also holding each other in their arms, as if they were worried that hte other would be taken away from them, or killed like their parents if they let go.

The leaves were actually nothing special in terms of makeup, they were seemingly common tree leaves. But the leaves were from a large, preserved supply he had brought with him. After all, they were Wood Elves. Identical twins, and Wood Elves.

"Well...I suppose its time to wake up..."

Asta mentioned that as he moved over and poked the nose of his twin, Asti. After that, he decided that there was only one way to wake his brother up, regardless on if his brother was actually asleep still or not, and tickled him. They were identical brothers who were always in synergy and got along, but that did not mean they did not mess around with each other playfully some times.

On a bit of a more serious note, the reason they were sharing the same bed was because Asta was worried about Asti having nightmares, and so each night cuddles with him in bed so that Asti feels more safe...and unknowingly himself, it has been having an equal effect on him.

As Asta finally say up a little more, his stomach grumbled. However, that was not their only issue. The two twins also had something they absolutely had to do. And that was take a morning wash. In the dorms, instead of taking the painstakingly annoying problem of putting showers and bathrooms in every room, that if left on would cause a massive water bill, there was just a general shower and bath area. It could be embarrassing to be sure, but it saved money, and the dorms did not have to get torn to pieces whenever there was a plumbing issue.

"We should grab some towels and hit the bath!~ Ahhh, there isn't an experiencing like when we bathed in the creek, but...the bath they have here is heavenly, and there is apparently a bubble option! Man....to think this is what Academy life could be like~..."

He said that while falling backwards, his body forming a star shape as he did.

"I promise ya Asti, its gunna be fun here".

His voice, although it seemed like his usual devilish self, seemed a bit more...sincere...and thoughtful....in that moment.

"Ugggnnh" was the only noise that came from under the covers as Asti was trying to curl up and stay warm.

"First I have to wake up, now you're telling me I gotta go shower in front of other people too?!" He grumbled as he got the covers pulled off him.

Asta then began to tickle him and he started squirming and kicked the blankets down off the bed and laughed.

"Fine, fine, I'll go. But the food better be good around here."

He grabbed his clothes and wrapped a towel around his waist.

"C'mon Asta, let's go." He said as he waited for him at the door.

"Let's get this over with."

Asta just looked at his brother with a small grin, although he was clearly embarrassed about it as well. But once Asti had submitted, he just shrugged it off as he also wrapped a towel around his waist and got some things together.

"You might just be a bigger sleepyhead then me" he said, although it was not true. In truth, Asta would react almost the same way if their positions were reversed....maybe. However, he did just smile.

"You know sleepyhead, we have eaten here before" he said as he went to grab his brother's hand and then pull him along towards the bathing area at a brisk pace, potentially a bit too fast of a pace, although his towel seemed fine at the moment. However, all sorts of ideas were running through his head right now already on what they would do today, and the various fun they could have.

"Hey, wanna race the rest of the way there?" he asked, even though it was not far.

"I know we've eaten here before, but I'm still waiting for the food to be good." Asti joked. In truth the food was pretty good, but Asti had just made some bad choices in the food he had picked.

He was dragged along until they were about half-way there, still not completely awake, then his brother asked about racing.

"Yeah I guess." He said groggily. "One, two, three... go!" He then shouted quickly and bolted off down the hall toward the showers with a hand on his towel to keep it from flying off as he ran. He too was coming up with ideas of what kind of trouble they could get into today

And so the two raced quickly and as fast as possible to the showers and bath as he smiled childishly. And then, as they reached the end....well, they were twins. In other words, if they started at the same time, and they both made an equal attempt...the answer would be obvious.

"I suppose...a tie should be expected" he said as he walked into the shower and baths with his brother. There were countless shower stalls for use, although because they were more used to baths, Asta could not help but eye the public baths. They were kind of like a hot springs set up, but it was true they looked extremely inviting.

"Well, Asti. Where do you think we should go? Personally, I think we need to break in everything here" he said with a devilish smile while looking at the bath. Incidentally, being twins who did everything together, the chance of them doing things seperately was zero, at least right now. Asta would either join Asti in a shower stall, and the two would help wash each other there, or in the bath and do the same. Thankfully, neither of them were large so they could both fit in a shower stall if needed.

But as he said that....hr grabbed his brother's towel and swung it around! "Gotta make your decisions quickly though, or else I will make them for you as always! Besides, if we take too long here, how can we start getting anything done?"

"The baths look nice." He said as he pulled his brother's towel off and snapped him in the bare butt with it.

"But you should know better than to take my things." He snickered and went over and threw his clothes and towel next to one of the tubs and jumped in making a big splash.

"Cool, it's one of those tubs that's always cycling the water so it's always hot and never dirty." He laughed.

It wasn't long before Asta was in the tub there with him. The bubbles were nice and the temperature was perfect. He splashed at Asta a few times before he got to washing and getting clean. They took turns washing each other's backs and helping with getting the shampoo out of each other's hair.

Of course, Asta had no intention of letting his brother get away with that, and managed to snap Asti's bare butt in exchange right before he got into the pool. After that, he put all of his belongings next to his brother's and then hopped into the tub as well in a rather energetic and excited fashion.

"Well, your stuff is my stuff too so I think its okay".

With that said, he made sure that Asti's back got washed as well as his hair, and vice versa. However, once Asta got the soap again...

"You know, I should probably make sure the rest of your body is properly washed as well!" and thus attacked him with a bar of soap, scrubbing him in ways that would be ticklish. It was certainly true that Asta was the more outgoing one, if only by a little, however....he completely forgot that one should not really play around or roughhouse in a bathtube because it was so slippery, and ended up falling right on top of Asti, just barely stopping himself from having his body force Asti's under the water and just stopped above him.

"Save successful!"

Asti laughed as his brother tickled him and he tried to push him off before he slipped and fell on him.

"Hey! I was washing everywhere." he said trying to get back up without falling back down. They finished washing up and got out of the tub. Asti dried off and got dressed and waited for his brother.

"You didn't hurt yourself did you?" He asked with genuine concern.

"We can't do any good pranks if you're injured."

"Well, as your brother, I thought you might need help!" he said as he moved his body off of his brother. Thanks to how they usually slept, he was totally unphased by the fact he had fallen on his brother like that, but the few others that had come in after them were amazed at their mental strength. Indeed, they had gathered quite the crowd.

But, that might just be because its them.

After they were done, the two finally got out of the bath and dried off with towels. Of course, seeing such an open target, Asta could not help but snap his towel at his brother's bare butt again playfully. He was almost tempted to steal his brother's clothes, run back to the room, and lock him outside, but...he could save that for later.

When he was asked about himself, he looked over himself and shrugged.

"I dont feel any serious injury, which means I am still on for today's pranks. I don't think we have any classes today either, which means we can just hang out and do what we want!"

"Sweet!" Asti replied, oblivious to the other guys that were looking at them funny for being such close brothers. Most of them doing their best not to stare at them.

They walked down to the cafeteria and Asti was starving. He was a little young for it, but he loved coffee and he took some of that as well a huge plate of bacon, another plate of waffles and a third plate of ham and loaded it all on a tray. He loved his breakfast meats and before he went to the table he covered everything on his plates with maple syrup.

"I hear the breakfast meat here is really good, so I'm trying that today instead of the eggs I had before." He smiled hopefully at his breakfast.