See well, those whose blind, listen those, that can't speak~

Nossaral Unn watched from his front desk seat as Fornelia Chantervalica sat before the classroom. Cross-legged on their teacher's momentarily vacated desk, she strummed her acoustic guitar tempo perfect to her singing.

Think whole, those unborn, speak for, them shan't hear~

Ra'ise was kicking into full swing as the temperature began its slow and steady climb into the early days of summer. But the sweltering season was still far away, and the last cool air of spring still lingered, carrying soft breeze through the opened windows.

Trust my back, stab my heart, go forth, together~

Amongst his classmates, Joachim had nodded off while Shimona and Enneya were bobbing their head to her slow tune. The rest sat patiently, waiting for Four to end her performance.

Trust thy heart, stab thy back, go forth, together...

She set her instrument down, the last tension in the strings vibrating the final echoes of the music. The class clapped mildly for her performance. Even Nos found himself nodding slightly in approval of her song. Her voice was practised perfection, not one gained from talent on birth. It had the ruggedness of training, the tone of hardship, and the success from endurance. All qualities he felt admirable.

“Woo!” Lua cheered from behind. Four took a bow and left her 'stage', taking her instrument with her.

A member in the classroom stood up, an individual who had joined them for the performance. A young hume girl with short brunette hair and horn-rimmed glasses who dressed too uniformly to the school's maroon, black and green to fit in their non-uniform group. The girl gave Four a wave as the latter waved back, taking a seat on the desk she shared with Nos that day. The uniformed girl went to the front of the class, waved her goodbye to the rest of the class with a smile, and left the room shortly after.

It took no longer for Four to set down her guitar before he asked, “Who's that?”

She leaned back in her seat and smirked. “Well, well. To what do I owe the pleasure of having a conversation with the notoriously introverted Nos?”

“Curiosity,” he paused and glared at her, annoyed. “Four-Chan,” he spited.

“It's Fornelia Chantervalica,” she replied.

He was not entirely sure why she hated that nickname. Perhaps it was because it was one she did not pick herself. Maybe it was due to it sounding childish and getting in the way of her self-proclaimed 'hardcore' lifestyle. Either way, the reason was definitely not logical, since the original purpose of the nickname was supposedly to shorten her unusually long name. A job which it did perfectly.

“So?” Nos continued, satisfied with the rile he gave her. “Who is she?”

She sighed. “Pipquet Chevlier. We just call her 'Pip'. She retook her entrance exams and got reassigned to Class B.”

“You can do that?”

“Yeah. It's usually just that one or two tests that you need to get a different score on.”

“Does our class assignment really matters that much?”

“Not really, depending on who you asked. Pip didn't really care, but her parents pressured her to retake the test. It's just a silly social ranking thing that society's elite is trying to push onto us. Embrace our freedom, I say!” she punched her hand into the air and cheered.

From across the room, Enneya echoed in agreement. “Testify...”

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He thought Pip might have gotten lucky. If she had been with them for another year, he wondered if their epitaphs numbering would have gone from zero to fifteen instead. Or perhaps she would have gotten his number instead. It was another problem with their epitaphs that he could not get over. The sheer coincidental nature of it meant solving their riddles were that much more random.

He asked, “So why did she come here?”

Behind them, Seks, their sole drakin classmate leaned over. “For the performance, of course,” he explained matter-of-factly. “It's a Class C tradition handed down by our peers. We play a musical performance of one form or another at the start of each season. Even though she's not a member of the class any longer, we still consider her part of the tradition.”

Seks was an indigo scaled drakin, his beige wings folded behind him as he sat. He wore a lose fitting black jacket with leaf green trousers held up by a brown cloth belt. Unlike Rehiy and the rest of their race who preferred to dress thinly, Seks had gained a liking for human and elven clothings. However, he could only wear those that were lose fitting as his scales tended to tear through the cloth, not that his girlfriend seemed to mind much.

He looked around Seks's desk and asked, “Where's Trini?”

The drakin gave an exasperated sigh at hearing of her missing girlfriend. “She skipped school again. Went out with Shichi for 'restorative outing', as she puts it.”

Nos crossed his arm. Even though a season had passed, he had not got along exceptionally well with his classmates. Thankfully, being socially excepted was not something he cared much of so long as he got to graduate. In the time that he had been in school however, Shichi was one of the few people he spoke to.

He asked, “Is Shichi hurt that badly?”

Four scoffed. “No! That idiot recovered from his little bump to the head days ago. 'Restorative outing' my arse! Those two are probably goofing off somewhere. Careful, Seks, or Shichi's gonna steal your girl.”

“How's that possible?” he joked back. “I'm so much more attractive.”

As they laughed, Nos stared stoically at their camaraderie. He felt out of the loop of the joke. Something that could only be gotten from having known the other party for a period of time. But the feeling did not bother him. Not one bit.

Four grabbed a case off the ground and got to her feet. “Well, I better get going before the teachers come back from their meeting.”

“Go?” Nos asked. “Where?”

Seks replied for her. “It's a tradition, remember? We're in our last year. It's her job to past it down to the juniors this time.”

Four added, “You should come too, Nos. You've never really got the introduction, did you?”

“Do I have to?” he whined.

“Don't be a baby,” she retorted. “Galia would probably even let you skip ten minutes of her lessons for this.”

He contemplated the offer quickly and stood up with a nod. Anything that let him get away from Lady Galia's history class was a well worth trade. He would literally rather fight a behemoth than sit through her lessons for a second longer than necessary. He swore the woman was a chronomancer, slowing down time whenever she opened her mouth.

The two left the class together and headed down the empty school hallways. The teachers were having their mid-morning briefing and the students were expected to stay in class for the hour. Most took the chance to nap. Others chose to chat before the last lesson before lunch break. The batches of students got different classrooms assigned to them based on the year they entered. The newest batch was in the block next to theirs as the four years of students had cycled around with them, so the walk over to the classroom took next to no time.

Four practically kicked the door opened and stormed in without invite. Unceremoniously stunning the small class of six, first years, she headed straight for the teacher's desk. The new students were spread out in their seating in a classroom literally seven times too large for their numbers. Nos had not believed people when told that their batch of Class C was the largest, but now he saw how that could be true. The juniors stared at Four and mostly ignored Nos. They entranced mostly by what Nos assumed was her gothic dressing more than her behaviour.

She set her case down on the desk and opened it, pulling out a sleekly lacquered dark conewood violin. She set the saddle on her neck and chin to the rest. She plucked a few strings and tuned a few pegs, all while silently being watched by their juniors. Satisfied, she set the bow at the ready.

Her eyes closed. Her hand and fingers moved.

Summer flowed from the strings, wind soothingly washing over the room in gentle sensations that tickled the spine. Nos was reminded of fields of grass that he played on with friends as a child. Of breeze that blew and snow that fell. Seaside sand caressing between his toes. His breathing rhythmic, his feelings cryptic, a sense of reminiscence held onto his heart.

Then, Four paced up. The tempo approached a rush of years and days flowing by. Of stories told and battles fought. Of victories and defeats, of love and lost. Her pink ponytail swayed, dancing fluidly with each tilt of her head. Light from outside the classroom glittered on the shimmering corners of her dress.

Finally, she slowed, a tune of going home. Of rest and relaxation. Of goofing off and post-class adventures. Fireworks and festivals. Beaches and forests. Mountains and road. Dinner and bed. She pulled the bow slowly as she sung the final drop.

Where the Twin light shadow stretch

There a crystal on life stream~ming.

On the road to home we reach

We will find ourselves~besides...

Beneath...

The stars of skies~...

She ended with a hard stop and kept her instrument back into its case in one fluid motion. Then, she turned to their juniors and finally said, “Good luck. It's going to be an ama~zing four years!” Four turned away from the still silent class and headed to Nos and the door.

She smiled. “Lady Aileenae.”

“Miss Chantervalica,” the teacher greeted.

Nos had been so entranced that he had not noticed the teacher appearing beside him. From what he knew, Lady Aileenae was the head of the former graduating batch. Having completed her cycle, she was likely assigned to the new first year.

“You were marvellous,” Aileenae complimented to Four.

Four slipped past the teacher and Nos, exiting to the corridor. “I have been preparing this for four years,” she grinned back, matter-of-factly.

“That you have.” Aileenae replied as Four headed back to class with skips in her steps. Then, the woman looked down to Nos who still stood there, unsure of what to do or say. She smiled. “Welcome to the academy, Mister Unn.”