Welcome to Gaia! ::

Kenton's side of the room is sparsely decorated, in keeping with his military upbringing. A small shelf of books sits over a dresser by his bed. He has hung a map of his home, Crescent Tide, over his desk by the window. The shelves are neatly organized and routinely dusted.

Kenton keeps maps of the world's oceans in his desk drawers, as well as blank rolls of paper and plenty of ink. On the window, he has affixed a falcon's roost on the offchance his king's favorite birds come to find him with a message. There is a globe he refers to often when rehearsing tactics high on the dresser.

His chairs have no backs, as they interfere with his wings. At night, he places his pouch of water on the shelves that act as the headboard of his bed, designed to be in easy reach in the event of a nighttime attack.

Kenton plans to keep to himself this year, and has brought along a folding screen he intends to use to keep his roommate at bay should he prove to be nosy.

A young fairy lord arrived at his room with one lonely bag. His shoulders were broad, but he only used one of them to carry his satchel. The wings on his back resembled those of dragonflies, elongated ovals that caught the light that filtered in through his roommate's heavy curtains. A deep claw scar divided his face at his left eye, a remnant of the concluded war at home. He had just come from meeting with the headmaster, and supposed that now was as good a time as any to set up what little he owned.

Some simple furniture in wood and blue, brought in from the neighboring town, lined one side of the room. The other side, black and white and altogether quite depressing, presumably belonging to his roommate. Kenton placed his satchel neatly on his bed and started to unpack. He set a globe upon the shelf, and reorganized a few of his new books.

Kenton didn't have many possessions, most of the books and trappings of his side had been brought straight from the city. All he had was clothes and a few books of his own. He pulled on his gloves and fastened his water pouch to his hip before checking the clock. There was a little time to kill before he needed to report for dinner service.

He picked up one of the books his father had sent to the room, entitled Feathers and Wings: The Flying Creatures that Soar Over Our World. Frowning, he opened it to the chapter about fairies. There seemed to be a great many other fairies in the world... Would there be others at the school? It would certainly be nice not to be the only winged one on campus.

Kenton sat down on his bed and winced, stretching and rolling his left shoulder. It felt stiff and sore, and occasionally protested when he moved a certain way. Maybe he ought to have waited a year before coming to the Academy, but there was no going back now. He was here to learn, and if the stories about this place were true... well, at least he could protect himself.

With a sigh, Kenton decided to explore the rest of the campus. Perhaps he could make a friend or two.

[Exit to Student Lounge]

Tom watched, bored, while the fairy went about his morning routine. He noted the scars on the fairy's face and torso. Hm. Someone else knew pain.

"Shall we get breakfast?" he asked, deciding not to bring it up.

"Sir Prince, I rather thought you had royal friends to dine with," Kenton said, poking his wings through his robes and fastening his belt and pouch around his waist. "I feel certain in declaring myself the least interesting person on these grounds."

"Clearly, you haven't met anyone yet. Come on, you hungry?"

"Yes, but I was intending to see if the kitchens would accept my help this morning," Kenton said, lacing up his boots. Tom frowned.

"Wait, you work here?"

"Yes."

"The hell are you doing in the student dorms?"

Kenton straightened up, finished dressing at last. "Work study. I am working to pay off my tuition. I am no prince, but lord and lieutenant commander."

Tom nodded appreciatively. "Army man. Could've used you last year."

"That's what I hear." Kenton stretched, carefully working his injured shoulder. "What did happen, if I may ask?"

Tom lifted up his shirt, exposing the puckered burn scars. "Hell."

Kenton fell silent, and nodded once. "I... I see?"

"It's a long story, let's save it."

"At your request."

"Seriously, knock that off, I'm beginning to not like you." Tom peeked at Kenton's schedule, tacked to the wall by his desk. "Fun stuff this year."

"I am not here for fun, Sir Prince," Kenton said, pulling open the door and holding it for Tom. "I am here to learn all I can. Should I happen to have fun here, it shall merely be a side effect."

"You must be all kinds of fun at parties, Lieutenant."

[Exit Tom and Kenton to Dining Hall]

"I CARE NOT," Tom hollered as he entered the room, "What you MEANT. What matters is what you've DONE."

"And what is it that you think I have done?" Kenton asked, turning around to face him.

Tom squared off against his roommate. It appeared the fairy was changing into something for the banquet. "You. Stay away from Maeza or I will end you," he said, his voice deadly serious.

Kenton raised an eyebrow. "That does not answer my question, and I make no promises as I cannot control what Madam Princess does," he said, slipping his tunic over his head and threading his wings through it. "I know that she has grown fond of me as we are a similar kind, and that we share a law class at the end of B day."

"Then you share it with me too," Tom snarled. "Keep out of my way, keep out of her sight and no harm comes to you."

"Respect, Sir Prince, but you do not frighten me," Kenton said honestly, pulling up a pair of black muslin pants. "I have seen and survived far worse than you."

"Then I'm not being clear." Tom dropped from the ceiling in front of Kenton. "I will haunt you every night and ensure you never sleep. I will dog your every step so that you may never know peace. I will sabotage your work, I will ruin your chances at success, I will trap you so far underground that your only friend will be the skeleton of the rat that started the Black Plague."

Kenton began buttoning up his jacket, entirely unfazed. "If I suspected you to be an honest man, I would fear you far more than I do."

Tom punched the wall, howling with rage as he turned on Kenton. "DON'T TEST ME—!"

In a fluid, well-trained movement, Kenton uncorked the bottle of water he kept at his side and assumed a defensive stance. The water rushed forth and formed a wall at Tom's eye level. "Do not force me to defend myself against you, Sir Prince. I am a lieutenant commander trained for years in the art of war and I will win," Kenton warned, his hand raised at shoulder level, ready to command.

Tom raised a hand to brush the water away, and found it unpleasantly tough on his hand. "What are you doing. Knock that off before I call security on you."

"Raise your hand to me or anyone else in my line of sight and I will not hesitate to defend," Kenton said, returning the water to its pouch at his side. The brown rather clashed with the black of his getup, but he wasn't complaining. Better armed and unfashionable than handsome and unprepared.

Tom rolled his eyes, and sat down on his bed. "I miss her too much to let you wreck it."

"I cannot counsel you, Sir Prince," Kenton said, resuming his buttoning. The odd shape of the buttons made it difficult on his injured hand. "Madam Princess and I have become friends, I confess, but I sense you mean something else. I urge you to take it up with Madam Princess when you both are in a more amicable mood."

"Don't tell me what to do," Tom snapped, yanking open his drawer. He vanished into it, and reemerged wearing slacks and a dinner jacket emblazoned with dragonflies.

"I rather like that look on you," Kenton commented, if nothing else because he knew the mere sound of his voice would make Tom angry. Kill 'em with kindness, right?

"Shut up before I punch your face in."

"How else will I tell Sir Prince how handsome he is?"

Tom sighed, squeezing his eyes shut. "I will murder you in your sleep."

Kenton returned to his dorm, exhausted and pleased that Tom was still gone. If nothing else, it would keep him safer tonight.

He changed out of his messy clothes and into pajamas, checking the clock. He had a few hours to get sleep before the first day of classes. The young lord fell into bed and pulled the covers over him, falling asleep almost instantly.