Morningstar

Killam’s feet are on the table. Besides him is Rin sitting. The tables in Draconic are only made for two people. Unfortunately, his group consists of five people since Urho died, and Rin’s group consists of three people since Meer died. That means that one of them is sometimes left out to sit with anyone else from another group.

“Can you lower your feet?” Rin says. “I can smell your feet from here.”

“Liar,” Killam says. “But if you want, I can take my shoes off.” Rin only pushes his feet from the table in response. “Of all the people, I had to end up sitting next to you.”

“I am not happy either,” Rin says. “If you shut up and remain calm, everything will happen quicker.”

“For you, may be,” Killam says. “I am not here to make your life easier.”

“You’ve made that clear many times before.”

“I have a question,” Hakea asks as his hands flies into the air. “This is our third day of practice, which means that the third trial is in four days. Do you know anything about the upcoming trial?”

Icarus places his green apple down. “No,” he answers. “They haven’t left any clues, and I don’t think that they will. We need to use a different tactic this time. Who are the remaining groups?”

“Well, we have Lodge, Quin, Trod, Pym, Signe, Demetrio, Jene, Kemba, and Sorer,” Killam says as he counts with his fingers.

“You know all of them?” Rin asks.

“Of course,” Killam answers. “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Isn’t that right, dear?”

“Fuck off,” Rin answers.

“Who do you think is the strongest?” Moneo asks.

“Quin, for sure,” Killam answers. “Her group is too in sync. Demetrio is a close second.”

“What about the rest?” Beta asks.

“Why does it matter?” Killam asks. “Only three groups get to graduate. As long as we don’t face those two, we will be fine.”

“What else do you have memorized about them?” Icarus asks.

“Oh, everything,” Killam says. “Their group members, training methods, weapons they use. I even know their underwear sizes.”

“How do you know that?” Lexan asks.

“He stalks them,” Rin answers.

“He stalks them,” Killam imitates mockingly.

“How you do it, we do not need to know,” Icarus says, “but we can surely use that information. If you can stay after practice to tell me everything that you know, we would all appreciate it.”

“What are we going to do today, then?” Tilray asks.

“First, we will divide into teams of four,” Icarus says. “Don’t bother thinking who you will team up with because I will choose them. The first team will be Tilray, Phoenix, Fey, and Lexan.”

“No way!” Phoenix exclaims. “Can’t you leave me at least one day without having to talk to her?” She points at Tilray, who is smiling. Killam knows Tilray way enough to know that she is enjoying seeing her suffer.

“With that attitude, no,” Icarus answers. Killam smiles when he hears Phoenix take a deep breath.

“I am not arguing, but why am I in the middle of those three?” Lexan asks.

“Because last time you were able to calm Phoenix and Tilray,” Icarus says. “Now, we’ll just add Fey in the mix.”

“Hey!” Fey argues.

“The second team will be Kobo, Wither, Xeon, and Zanna,” Icarus says.

“Why?” Zanna asks without raising her hand or moving to call for attention.

“Because you four hardly talk,” he says. “I do not know how you will communicate. The third group is going to be Hakea, East, Shin, and Beta. The fourth one is going to be Slier, Moneo, Ilya, and Vil, and the fifth one is formed by Agrion, Norm, Killam, and Rin.”

“Fuck,” Killam curses when he hears Rin’s name.

***

Shin looks at his team while he is still sitting. He looks from East to Beta to Hakea. He doesn’t know Beta and Hakea very well. He doesn’t know if he will have any problem working with them. He does know that it will be an issue working with East. He always tries to lead, and Shin doesn’t trust him enough to follow him.

“What else?” Shin asks.

“Well, I hid something this morning,” Icarus says as he gazes the apple that he is spinning on the desk. “You will work in teams to find it.”

“What is it?” Fey asks.

“Bells,” he says. “I hid three round bells attached with a red string.” He looks up from the apple. “Do you like coffee?”

“That’s an obvious question,” Tilray says. “We all do, but we’ve hardly drink some. They only give us coffee when they need us full of energy.”

“Then let’s raise the stakes,” Icarus says. “Whichever group finds the bells will receive a price. I will steal coffee from the lunchroom, since I have access to it, and I will give it to the winning team.” Shin sees everyone unable to hide their excitement. “Every morning until graduation.”

“What are we waiting for?” Tilray asks. “Let’s find this bell!”

Icarus nods. “Let’s go outside and choose your team leader. When you all do, you may start.”

Shin heads outside without forming his group, just like everyone else. Once outside, he spots East, Hakea, and Beta together. He approaches, swearing under his breath. The worst thing that has happened is for Icarus to be his mentor. He is always searching for ways to annoy Shin and his group.

“Who’s going to be the leader?” Hakea asks.

“I can be,” East says.

“No, I want to be,” Shin says. He doesn’t want to be leader. He only wants East not to be.

“Well, if you are all offering then I want to be too,” Hakea says.

“Sure, never give the option for a woman to be leader, I get it,” Beta says.

Shin can hear Tilray, Phoenix, and Fey arguing. “Shut up! I will be the leader and that is final!” he hears Lexan yell and they stop arguing.

“She is right,” East says. “Beta, you can be our leader.”

“Ah, just because I am a woman,” Beta says. “No, thank you. Break your heads thinking who the best leader should be.”

“All right, then I should be,” Hakea says.

“Why? I’ve never seen you lead anything,” Shin answers.

“Hey! I am the leader of my group, unlike you,” Hakea says.

“What a great leader! A leader of a four-member group, which by the way one is dead, and one doesn’t want to talk to you,” Shin answers. Hakea’s blond eyebrows furrow.

“Now, now, let’s not get personal,” East says, stepping between Shin and Hakea. “I’ll be the leader and that’ll save us a lot of arguing.”

“No, no,” Shin says. “I won’t let you be leader.”

“So,” Icarus says as he approaches, “who is the leader in here?”

Shin, Hakea, and East open their mouth. “I am,” Beta answers quickly.

“Do you all agree?” Icarus asks. Shin looks at East. He nods and so does Hakea. Shin nods also. “Very well. You can search for the bells now.”

“Let’s go, imbeciles,” Beta says. Shin accepts her insult. If he wants to find the bells, he will have to hear someone. He will only hear Beta and no one else.

***

Tilray stares at her nails and then at Phoenix. “That’s ridiculous,” she says as her eyes go back to her nails.

Phoenix glances at Lexan, searching for his opinion. “Well,” Lexan says as he shrugs slowly, “it is worth a try.”

“Perfect,” Phoenix says. She heads towards Icarus, who is standing a few feet away from them. “Show me your pockets.”

“Why?” Icarus asks. Phoenix hands go past his cloak and to his shirt. “Ah, eager to touch me. All right. Enjoy yourself.” Phoenix’s hands fly back.

“Then I’ll do it,” Fey says as her hands replace Phoenix’s.

“Careful now,” Icarus says, letting himself be touched by Fey.

Fey then steps back. “He is clean.”

“Are you sure? Didn’t you find a pair of round things that could be mistaken for bells?” Tilray asks.

“Tilray!” Lexan scolds.

“My hands didn’t go there, but I could check,” Fey says.

“All right, that’s enough,” Phoenix says as she turns Fey by the shoulders. “Let’s get going. I want coffee every morning.”

“See you later, Icarus,” Fey says as she waves her fingers and as Phoenix pushes her away.

“So, what now?” Phoenix asks as they walk away.

“I don’t know,” Lexan says. “Any idea on where to start?”

“See? This is why I should have been leader,” Tilray says.

“Oh, what? Do you think that you know where it is?” Phoenix asks, annoyance in her voice.

“Let’s not start arguing again,” Lexan murmurs.

“As a matter of fact, I think that I do,” Tilray says. She should have been leader. She always finds the answers to everything. “It is pretty obvious. Where would Icarus hide the bells and expect at least one of us to find it?”

“Come on, spit it out,” Fey says.

Tilray rolls her eyes. “He hid it in a place that we all have in common. Of course, it isn’t Draconic 23 because it would be very obvious. What else do we have in common?” She waits a few seconds before groaning. “Do I have to do everything myself? The main hall! It is where we first saw him!”

“Oh my, you might be right,” Phoenix says.

“Let’s go,” Lexan says.

They begin to run. Tilray doesn’t want to waste any time. She wants that coffee. She is sure that Ilya or Norm will figure it out quickly. Their minds work fast, faster than Tilray’s. When they reach the main hall, she opens the door, but finds a group of people already making their way to the door. She steps back, letting them step out.

“It wasn’t here,” Ilya says. She walks out first, then Moneo, then Vil, and finally Slier.

“You all had the same idea, huh?” Moneo asks.

“We did,” Lexan admits.

“Come on,” Ilya tells her group. “I have a few other ideas.”

“Oh no, you don’t,” Tilray says. “I know what you are thinking. You are thinking that he might hid it where we had the capture the flag.” Ilya smiles. Tilray knows how she thinks. “Come on! We’ll get it first!”

“Oh no you won’t!” Moneo answers as he begins to run.

“Damn it,” Tilray swears. She sprints towards Moneo. “Come on!” She hears then the steps of her group following her.

***

Norm sits down on a rock to hear Rin and Killam argue again. “That’s a horrible idea,” Killam yells. “You should stick to cooking and cleaning.”

Rin grunts. “You are so sexist! I don’t know how your group put up with you!”

“That’s because I am a vital part of my group,” Killam says, “unlike you, who is just a third wheel.”

“You? Vital?” Rin laughs. “You ended up in that group because no one wanted you. You are an extra, that is all.”

“Am I really?” Killam asks. “Go ahead and ask anyone from my group. They will let you know how important I am. Right, Norm?”

“Don’t get me in the middle of it,” Norm says. Killam returns to argue with Rin. Norm looks at Agrion, who is standing against a tree. “Can you do something about them?”

“Don’t look at me. I am not the leader, you are,” Agrion answers. “Besides, I do not give an ounce of importance if we win or not. I don’t care about the coffee.”

Norm sighs. He got the worst combination of group possible, apart from Tilray, Phoenix, and Fey. He got two people who cannot stop arguing for one whole second and another one who doesn’t care about anything.

“Can’t you take a break?” Norm asks Killam and Rin.

“No!” they yell. Norm stands up. He walks towards them. He quickly smacks the back of their heads. They move a step closer and knock each other on the forehead.

“Focus,” Norm says as they touch their foreheads. “We need to find those bells. Does anyone in here know anything about Icarus?”

“Who would?” Killam says. “I have only seen anger from him. Apart from that, I would say that he doesn’t know how to feel.”

“But he is a human being,” Norm says. “He should feel something. And anyway, I am not asking if he feels or not. I just want to know which of us knows him better.”

“I think that that’s me,” Agrion says. “I have spent more time with him than any of you.”

“Why?” Rin asks. Agrion only shrugs.

“Wait,” Killam says. “Are you seeing him? Is Icarus gay?”

“What? No,” Agrion says as he moves his hands. “It is nothing like that.” Norm can see Agrion’s cheeks starting to flush.

“Let’s get back into topic,” Norm says. He doesn’t want Agrion to continue feeling embarrassed. “Do you know where he might have hidden the bells?”

“Well, he said that he hid it this morning, didn’t he?” Agrion says. “I was with him before breakfast. We can search on all the places we visited.”

“Sound like a plan,” Norm says before Killam can make any other comment. “Lead the way.” Agrion nods as he pushes himself off the tree. Norm waits for Killam and Rin to begin walking before he follows Agrion.

***

“I was wrong again,” Ilya says. How many times does she need to be wrong before she finds the correct place? She thought that she would finally show someone else, besides her group, that she is good for something.

“Don’t get demotivated,” Slier says. “All of your ideas have been good.”

They have gone to many places. They had visited the main hall, the place where they played capture the flag, the beach where they were yesterday, the place where they trained about climbing, the place where they learnt the trick with the spear, and many other places.

“Yeah, we can do it,” Moneo says. “We are a great team. Don’t you think, Vil?”

“Sure,” Vil says as she shrugs.

“Any other ideas?” Slier asks.

Ilya shakes her head. “Sorry,” she says. “I am out.”

“It’s all right. We will think of something,” Slier says.

“What about near the bridges?” Vil asks.

“Why?” Slier asks. Ilya thinks that it was easy for them to pick a leader. No one was craving to be leader, so they simply chose Slier. She did not argue about their decision.

“Because that is where the assassin’s trial started,” Vil says. “I don’t know if any of you were there, but I saw it. That was when he spoke to Xeon, Hakea, Drew, and Agrion. Ilya’s group and Phoenix’s group was also there.” She then stops a second. “It could be worth a try.”

“You are right,” Moneo says.

“Let’s go,” Slier orders.

They do not bother running. They have run to every place that Ilya said. If no one has found it by now, it means that it is well hidden. There is no point in running, and Ilya agrees. She is a little tired. She could use that moment of rest.

As they get near the place, Ilya hears it. Several bells chime. “Is that…” Moneo asks.

Slier begins to run. Ilya quickly follows her. If those are the bells, they have done it. They have won the challenge. Slier climbs quickly the bridge, and Ilya follows. She hears Moneo and Vil behind her. Then her breath stops when she sees.

Zanna, Xeon and Wither are standing in front of a tree, looking up. Zanna looks back to find them approaching. She looks back up. “Kobo, hurry up,” she says, calmly.

“Right,” Ilya hears Kobo answer.

Then she sees him. He is climbing the tree that they are staring at. Ilya sees to where he is climbing. Something flashes with the sun. The three bells held by a red string are hanging from one of the branches. Ilya slows her pace, but Slier accelerates her. She jumps on the trees and begins climbing it. When Kobo sees her, he begings to climb quicker. Then he jumps, and Ilya witnesses when his hand takes a hold of the bells.