Snippet #2490112

Saphiron Geneveaux

Giddy was not sufficient enough to describe Saphiron’s excitement for returning to Stella Academy. The car ride over with his grandfather was way too long for his liking, and while his face was serene while he watched the rolling hills change from a snowy white to a vibrant autumn filled with brown, reds, orange, and all shades in between, his mind was racing with the new possibilities this semester would bring him.

In truth, Saph wasn’t taken very seriously by his peers in terms of his combat skills or intelligence. This was mostly his own fault. He never competed in as many competitions as everyone else, and most of the time when he wasn’t in class or at track and field practice he could be found in the garden, seemingly doing nothing of importance. However, this lazy attitude should not be confused for ineptitude. Saph maintains high grades in all of his classes and maintains his body and combat efficiency to high levels, with practicing his ballet skills for balance, acrobatics for flexibility, and track for speed and agility.

He participated in three competitions last semester, which is the mandatory minimum for all students. They were small events, skirmishes even. But it was after his third competition that he was approached by a Garuda house leader, Vivian. She was an impossibly tall woman, with an imposing presence. Dark features and scars strewn about her body. “That was quite a display, kid. Why haven’t I seen you participate more often in the competitions? Garuda could sorely need the help. We’ve been taken to the cleaners this year by that new Anzu kid in the freshman divisions.” That must be Lonan. Lon was also a member of the track and field team. They were friendly acquaintances (mostly because neither of them put in the effort to converse outside of track and field besides the occasional group hang out they were involved in, something that Saph resolved to change to maybe more of an actual friendship), and Saph knew of his reputation as quite a competitor in the constant battles that were happening on campus.

Saph regarded her with a warm smile, indifferent of sarcasm, and simply stated, “Well, no one ever asked me. Should I have been fighting more? Isn’t fighting a lot of people a bad thing?"

Vivian looked at Saph dumbfounded. For the large Amazonian like woman, combat and battle was all she had ever known. “Uhh, well, it’s good for the house to win a lot! And no one really gets hurt. What do you say, can we count on you next semester to bring some crowns over to Garuda?!”

“Sure!” And so, with that Saph promised his services to Garuda. He wondered if he could maybe convince Jette to help out too, if they needed a duo team for something.

All of this reminiscing helped pass the time and he ended up bidding his grandfather goodbye with a jovial hug, and a quick exit from his car. The hustle and bustle around the campus was suffocating. Saph immediately made a bee line for his room, stopping briefly to wave a hello to Zero, who was sitting in the garden. Saphiron didn’t know if he actually saw him or not, or even knew who he was, but he made it a point to be polite to everyone, and especially those in his own house.

His dorm room was bare when he entered, which means that he beat Jette back to the room. He was probably trying to find a way to sneak Remy past the cacophony of people running around the grounds, which was probably the only time you would ever see Jette trying to act inconspicuous, which sort of made it all the more conspicuous if you thought about it. Their room was a larger dorm room, set at the end of the long hallway, and they were the only roommates on their floor, everyone else getting their own personal room, but Saph was happy to be rooming with someone else, even if it was to Jette’s general dismay.

Exiting his room, he was immediately greeted by Vivian. “Hey little guy! Ready to bring the glory to Garuda!”

“Absolutely!” Saph met her shout with equal enthusiasm and a nice smile. He could hear some people around them snicker, asking how that nice doofus would bring them any crowns this year, but Vivian quickly brought the chatter down, and went to go talk to a group that seemingly started the little rousing. Saph didn’t care one way or the other, and simply pulled his dark blue hoodie up over his head and moved out of the Garuda common area and into the main hall. Once there he just walked around, waiting for some instruction, and itching to get a start to his school year.