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Jaden fidgeted nervously in the hallway, wings alternating between half-open and clenching so tight against his body that it made his back hurt. He held his blue unicorn plushie tightly to his body. He didn't own much, just that plushie, a could sets of clothes, and a few school supplies provided by the Academy. Just enough to fill a box that an adult could easily lift, as one did now. Jaden had been rooming alone for his first couple days at the Academy, and he hadn't really left his room much in that time. Apparently he'd caused some worry, because several teachers had called him in and told him he was going to a new room and that he would have a roommate. One of them helped him pack all his things and carried them for him as they led him to his new room.

Jaden was panicking just a bit in the back of his mind. He didn't know anything about this person. What if they didn't like him? What if they decided they wanted to be mean to him? He could probably just ask a teacher for a new room, but Jaden had always had trouble speaking up.

A warm weight brushing against his side reassured him. He wouldn't to totally alone if the worst scenario came to life. Sprinkles was well-behaved, but they were very protective of Jaden; he'd had to take a moment to reassure the spectrefox that everything was okay when the news of his new residence caused him to start radiating anxiety. Another brush of fur on his other side made him smile. Blueberry couldn't tolerate anyone but her bullying Jaden, and Cream would always be there if he needed a hug. He would do alright.

"Alright, we're here," said the teacher, jarring Jaden out of his thoughts and testing his new-found resolve. The teacher knocked on the door, opened it, then set the box with Jaden's things inside. "I'll leave you two to settle in and get to know each other," he said with a smile, then turned and left Jaden alone in the hallway.

Jaden took a deep, steadying breath, then shyly edged his way into the room.

Jaden hovered shyly in the doorway, peeking up under his bangs at the freshling and the room beyond them. His first impression was purple. There was quite a bit of it. Not that he minded. Green was his favorite, but there weren't many colors he disliked.

"I'm Jaden. It's nice to meet you," he managed to say, proud he hadn't mumbled even if his voice was a bit quiet. He had always been horrible at meeting new people! Blueberry and Cream wiggled around his legs. Blueberry paused to examine the room, but Cream began to poke his little nose at everything. Jaden chuckled a little to watch Blueberry surveying the room like a queen, and really hoped she would be on her best behavior.

"That's Blueberry, and that's Cream," he said, pointing to each fennekit in turn. Cream had already finished sniffing under the bed and desk that Jaden assumed would be his, and was staring at a table with a flower pot on it like he was contemplating how to get up there. Jaden entered the room to grab up the fennekit before he could try to jump, and held him so he could see the flowers. Sprinkles followed Jaden into the room, pausing to do his own inspection of Jaden's bed and desk. "That's Sprinkles. Sprinkles and Cream like being petted, but Blueberry doesn't," he added in helpful tones.

Jaden flushed a littlen with Leto complimented his name. He wasn't really used to compliements, and didn't know how to respond. Right at that moment though, a fluffbug flew out of the flowers Cream had been inspecting. He was really surprised, since he hadn't seen it there! He was glad he hadn't moved Cream close to them. The fennekit wasn't nippy, but sometimes he tried to eat things that had no business being in his stomach, just to see if he would like them. He doubted Cream would try to eat the fluffbug, but he would have to train him to be gentle with the little guy just in case.

"He looks super soft," he said, admiring the fluffbug. He smiled a little to see the vespercat in Leto's lap. "I don't mind. Blueberry is like that sometimes." He set Cream down; the fennekit spun in a happy little circle, then immediately ran over to Leto to sniff the new freshling. Blueberry appeared to be trying to decide if she could climb the ladder to Jaden's bed, and Sprinkles was flopped on the floor underneath the bed.

Seeing that, Jaden went over to his bundle of things and pulled out a folded up bed. The teacher had done a really good job folding it! He laid it out by the foot of the bunkbed. Seeing that, Sprinkles picked themself up and went to lay on a comfier surface.

"I don't mind purple," Jaden said, turning back to Leto. "Green's my favorite, but I like all colors." He hadn't missed that his blanket was a green one. It gave him a bit of pleasure to see it!

Jaden shook his head, but didn't want to seem like he was just blowing off the offer for help so he added, "It's okay. I don't have a lot of stuff. It's mostly just beds for my familiars." He reached into his bundle and pulled out a second, much smaller bed. This one was a fairly bright mix of pink and green that couldn't seem to decide whether the colors were complementary or heinous. He set it down near the bed, under the window, and Blueberry promptly trotted over to flop down in it. From the looks she shot the vespercat in Leto's lap, she was just claiming territory rather than needing rest.

True to his word, the carry box that held Jaden's stuff seemed almost empty after the familiar's beds were removed. Just some books and a few changes of clothing. Jaden set about putting those away, stacking the books neatly on his desk and putting the clothes in the dresser. There was still a lot of empty space on his desk, even with all his books there. Maybe he should get a plant, in case Atre was ever lonely and Leto wasn't in the room. He was sure the fluffbug would enjoy a plant more than a wooden desk surface.

Everything put away, Jaden was suddenly quite unsure. He examined the carpet that took up most of the floor space, too shy to look at Leto directly. "I hope it's okay that I'm in a different house," he said softly, wondering if there were any rivalries between the different houses. Teachers encouraged them to all be friendly with each other, but he didn't know how Leto felt about the matter himself.

Jaden fidgeted a little nervously at the mention of people stopping by with any sort of frequency, but covered it by climbing up the ladder to inspect his new bed. He really didn't have a reason to feel nervous being around other people. He just wasn't used to socializing and never knew what to do, so it felt super awkward. It was nice that Leto was so supportive right from the start, but he wouldn't want to inconvenience his roommate either.

"It's okay. I'm not really good at talking to other people, but I don't mind them," Jaden said from his perch. The new bed was quite comfy. He flopped down, taking care not to smash his wings, and peeked through the wooden siding. "If I, um, doing anything bothersome though, don't be afraid to tell me."

Jaden felt a few twinges of concern at Leto's first few coughs, but as soon as he started coughing seriously he sat up, wings twitching in helpless distress with his brow crinkled in a concerned frown. He'd been pretty sure Leto's talk of collapsing had been an attempt at humor, but now it didn't seem all that unlikely to Jaden.

"Do you have any medicine for coughing, like drops? I heard hard candy can help sometimes too. Should I go look to see if any of the teachers might know where I can get some," Jaden offered hesitantly, not wanting to overstep boundaries but still worried for his new roommate.