The group sat back on their comfortable seats, eyeing Corvus cautiously as he began to explain who he was and why the change in form. At every point possible Corvus told the truth in its fullest, but he decided that it was best to hide some of the more violent details. If he was going to trust them, like Cleo had advised him, they would need to trust him, which would be hard if they knew everything about him and what he could do.

He explained that he couldn’t remember much before he woke up in his ruined home up north, beaten and bloody, and how he left to the forest to follow a dream that he had about green weapons and black magic to the south. When he got to the part where he met Cleo, his throat caught slightly. He needed to bend the truth even further than he wanted to keep up his ruse of normality.

“You were saying?” Henrith leaned forward, squinting his eyes in suspicion.

“Right. Yeah.” Corvus took a breath.

Corvus lied about his and Cleo’s first encounter, stating that when he attacked her, she almost killed him in an instant, saved only when she realised he was a death-wielded as well.

And from this, the lies kept flowing out.

He lied about everything she told him, saying that she wouldn’t talk to him about anything besides the journey ahead. He lied when he told them about the bandits, and how she killed them all while Corvus stood dumbfounded and watched. He lied about his curse, and how Cleo had helped him run away from a terrifying creature but couldn’t stop the magic from hitting him.

The rest was easier to explain, because he didn’t really do much while he was unconscious and walking the final few days to Desperius and how his curse almost killed him just as they arrived.

The story hung in the air for several moments of silence, not a sound passing over the shocked faces of all but Johanna, who was peering into his eyes expectedly, as if sensing that there was more to the story.

“Well,” Aria broke the silence, clapping her hands together in finality, making Lanya jump in surprise. “That's all well and good, but why didn’t Gregory come and introduce you to us like he did with the rest of us?” She raised a slightly bored eyebrow.

“Oh. He was irritating me so I broke his finger and left.” Corvus shrugged.

“You…did what?” May stood, slightly slack-jawed. “You do know that he’s in charge, right?”

“And that he’s, like, really powerful?” Damian added, similarly a-gasp.

“Doesn’t mean I have to like him. I did warn him, to be fair.” Corvus raised an eyebrow.

Jack stood up, clearing his throat.

“Well. As much as I can tolerate the ‘devil may care’ attitude that you seem to be acquainted with, it is not one that we need any more of. Henrith here is already pushing me a little far.” He jabbed an irritated thumb at Henrith, who was uncharacteristically quiet. “So, if you would please behave and learn to be polite, that would be greatly appreciated.” He smiled, though there was no attempt at warmth.

Corvus stood up, levelling his eyes with Jack’s. The two were about the same height, but Jack’s hair made him seem a few inches taller.

“Point taken, Jack.” Corvus emphasised his last word.

Jack’s face reddened with shock and anger.

“What? My name isn’t Jack! It’s—” Jack began.

“Jacque Neutrialis Rivielle VIII. I know. I heard.” Corvus interrupted, raising an eyebrow.

Jack said nothing, his face flaring with anger and speechless humiliation. He took his seat again, quietly looking down at the floor.

Laughter erupted from the other side of the room, cutting through the tension with ease. Henrith got to his feet, a smile spreading over his face. He strode over to Corvus, towering over everyone in the room with his size. He extended a friendly hand.

“Name’s Henrith, buddy. Gotta say, I like you so far.” His deep, goofy voice had a hint of grizzled weariness. If what Jack said about him being a miner was true, then he was obviously an experienced one.

Corvus took his hand, shaking it in greeting. Henrith laughed, slapping Corvus on the shoulder heartily. It was different to Gregory, less overbearing and warm, instead honest and joking. Corvus would take Henrith instead of Gregory any day.

“I’m inclined to agree.” Aria spoke up, getting to her feet and bouncing beside Henrith. The two an exchanged affectionate glance, giving Henrith his cue to sit down again.

Corvus and Aria shook hands, less vigorously than with Henrith but still firm and confidant. A glint of mischief passed in her eyes, giving Corvus a distinct sense that he would need to keep his guard up around her. Several fingers touched the side of Corvus’ head, causing him to drop Aria’s hand and turn his head. He was face to face with Lanya, who was surprised at the speed he moved, falling onto her back.

Aria and Henrith let out a laugh, high-giving each other. The rest of the group just rolled their eyes as Lanya got to her feet and brushed her knees.

“Sorry. I just wanted to look at your scars.” She apologised quietly.

“Scars?” Corvus took a few moments to wonder what she was talking about. As far as he knew, he didn’t have any scars besides his cursed hand. He didn’t have any from before all this craziness as far as he knew. Then it hit him. The sides of his head. The scars from when he put a bullet through his own head. The webs of cracked lines were mostly hidden by his dark hair, but they were still noticeable if you looked closely enough.

“Oh. Right. Those.” Corvus touched them absently. He glanced over to Lanya, who was bowing her head in shame. Corvus patted her head, much to her surprise and shock. “Don’t worry. They don’t hurt.”

Her face lifted with a slight red hue.

"Where did you get them?"  Lanya eyed them, shyly.

The memory of the bloodied pistol laying on the ground of the workshop flashed into Corvus' mind.  It would probably be safer to lie about that as well.

"I don't remember."  Corvus lied, shrugging.

She averted her eyes but extended her hand nonetheless. Corvus went to shake her hand, trying to ignore the burning stares from Aria and May. Though the twins had very defined differences, the bond they shared was still strong. As for May, her and the quieter twin had a strong bond of their own, though Corvus couldn’t tell what kind. He’d guess sisterhood.

“Now now, don’t go too far.” May spoke up, shuffling in between Corvus and Lanya with a protective smile. “Hi. I'm Marilyn Surpost, but just call me May, everyone does.” She extended her hand, while glancing back to see if Lanya was ok. Corvus shook her hand, curious as to why she was so protective over Lanya.

“Why am I always left until last?” Damian chuckled, scratching his head in embarrassment.

May’s face dropped in surprise. She dropped Corvus’ hand and turned to Damian.

“Oh. I'm sorry Damian, really I am.” She began, taking a few steps towards him.

“Don’t worry yourself. It’s no bother, really.” He held up his hand, getting to his feet. He stretched, rippling his muscles under his cotton shirt before walking up to May. He held his hand up like a target. May smiled, head butting his hand and collapsing on the mattress with a childish whee.

Damian smiled, pushing his fringe out of his eyes and lifting his right hand in greeting. Corvus looked down at the hand, turning his arm to shake hands upside down. Noticing his mistake too late, Damian’s face turned bright red and he tried and failed to recover with words.

Henrith and Aria chuckled to themselves, causing Damian to blush further and retake his seat, where May comforted his embarrassment with a pat to his back. Henrith looked slightly guilty at Damian’s face, smiling apologetically.

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“Right, where were we? Oh yes. Damian’s dream diary!” Aria broke the silence, smiling mischievously at Damian, who buried his head in his hands again.

“Why does it always come back to me?” Damian whined, falling onto his back and looking at the sparkling felias on the ceiling.

“Because you are the most entertaining muscle-head in heels we know.” May offered, trying to be serious before losing herself to fits of uncontrollable laughter. The rest of the room, Johanna not included, followed suit, howling with laughter at something they had seen before. Even Damian found himself laughing with the others at himself.

All the while, Corvus watched with curiosity, watching the jovial faces that surrounded him. He wondered what they meant, Damian clearly wasn't wearing heels, in fact he was barefoot. These were supposed to be his new friends. He was glad it was them. They were more entertaining to be around than Gilgamesh and definitely more than Gregory and the rest of his group and the rest of Desperius. A chuckle echoed inside him. Cleo had saved him again.

“How about it, Corvus?” Henrith called, raising an eyebrow at him.

“How about what?” Corvus tilted his head in mild confusion.

“Well, the girls have talked about their fancies. That makes it our turn now.” Henrith smirked towards the other boys, who were desperately trying to find an excuse to leave.

“Sorry, I-I’ve got to uh—” Damian stammered, getting to his feet faster than humanly possible.

“Oh my, is that the time?” Jack checked a clock that wasn’t there and began to walk towards the dorms.

“See you in the morning!” Damian practically jogged towards his room, closing the door with a blur.

“Likewise.” Jack tripped over his feet through the door of his room, disappearing behind the stone door.

Henrith and Aria howled with laughter, tearing up with the strain on their lungs. May was stifling a laugh, trying desperately to stop for fear of offending Damian further. Lanya hid her face behind her book, but it was clear that she was having similar fits of laughter. Johanna was still smiling quietly at Corvus, who was observing the laughter curiously.

“Not many boys to play with now, huh.” May tried to clear her throat but only laughed a little more.

“Totally worth it.” Aria wiped a tear from her eye and sat back up. “So, Corvus. What do you look for in a girl?” She smirked slyly at him.

Corvus was about to answer, but his throat caught. The image of a pale girl, flowing silver hair and deep amber eyes fluttered in his mind, stopping his mouth from moving.

“Oh come on.” Henrith interjected, noticing the change in Corvus. “He’s been travelling with that lass, Cleo for, what was it? A month? That length of time with someone like her is bound to give a man at least a few feelings.  She's one of the three Swallows in this place, after all.” Henrith chuckled to himself, giving Corvus the ghost of a wink to encourage him. Corvus nodded his thanks, giving Henrith an even wider smile.

“Fair point. She is gorgeous.” Aria noted, nodding along.

“I’ve been thinking about making some advances of my own.” Henrith mused, smirking at Aria. She gasped dramatically and slapped his shoulders playfully, laughing all the while.

“Really? You like older women?” Corvus tilted his head in confusion.

“What are you implying about me?” Aria raised an accusatory eyebrow.

“Older? She can’t be more than 25, surely?” Henrith returned the look of confusion.

“She’s 42.” Corvus shrugged.

“What?” The entire room chorused with that single word. Even Johanna looked a little shocked.

“But…How?” Lanya looked down at her hands in stunned thought.

“She looks younger than me, damnit.” May held her head in her hands, as if nursing a headache.

“What does she use?” Aria pulled away from Henrith, looking up at the sparkling ceiling.

“That’s…impressive.” Johanna whispered to herself.

Corvus and Henrith exchanged glances.

“I think we broke them.” Henrith mumbled, staring at the awe-struck girls.

“My bad.” Corvus shrugged.

There was a loud knock at the stone door that led into the room, snapping the girls out of their existential crisis.

“I’ve got it.” Henrith leapt to his feet and jogged to the door. Corvus sat still, mirroring the guarded expression on each of the Girl’s faces.

Several seconds of silence passed. Then came Henrith’s voice and another, familiar voice speaking in quiet conversation. Henrith reappeared from the porch.

“Corvus, it’s for you, bud.” He motioned over his shoulder with a surprise look on his face and tone in his voice.

Corvus got to his feet, preparing himself for the inevitable slaughter that would come with injuring Gregory. He clenched his left fist, striding forward. He passed Henrith, who was slightly confused by the speed Corvus was moving but let him pass.

When Corvus entered the porch, there was a familiar figure in the large stone doorway. Corvus’ feet wavered. He wanted to keep walking forward, but seeing her again, up close made him falter slightly.

Cleo had taken her apron off in the time since he had last seen her, replacing it with a set of black, formal clothes. Her jacket and trousers were both jet black, and she had a soft black fur cloak draped over her shoulders attached by a golden chain at her neck. Her face was more pristine than ever before, her emerald eyes glinting in the shadows. There was a slight hint of a smile on her face that vanished in an instant.

She bowed her head slightly, reaching into her cloak for something. She produced a large, heavy wooden box that she needed two hands to hold. She offered it to Corvus, who grabbed hold of it with his one good hand and held it against his side. It must’ve been three feet long, and one foot deep and wide. Judging by her raised eyebrow, it was supposed to be heavy.

“A delivery from the smith.” She spoke low and stoically, not moving an inch besides what was necessary.

“Thank you, Cleo.” Corvus nodded his head, just as she told him to do.

“Also, a message from the Lord. You are to receive disciplinary action for your behaviour earlier today. You can receive it from the Lord himself in the arena, or from myself here and now.”

Corvus stared at her. She was speaking like a stone. No emotion anywhere. A small pang of sadness went through his mind.

“I’ll receive it here.” Corvus nodded at her, closing his eyes when she began to raise her hand.

The impact never came, instead a light touch on his chest. He opened his eyes, looking down to see her fist, barely touching him just above his arm. Her eyes changed, her normal self returning for a moment.

“I thought I told you to behave.” She sighed, shaking her head with a small smile on her face.

“You should know me well enough to know that I can’t promise that.” Corvus shrugged at her apologetically.

“Please. Don't do it again.” She chuckled.

“If you say so.” He raised an eyebrow.

Her eyes blinked a few more times, the friendly gaze that she had held for months was tired. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. When she opened her eyes, it wasn’t the same Cleo that looked back.

She nodded, striding back down the corridor, her cloak billowing out behind her, further shrouding her in darkness.

Corvus could only stand there, watching where she once was and remembering her gaze. He hesitated, then turned around and closed the stone door behind him. He was faced with the peering eyes of Henrith, Aria, May and Johanna staring down the porch towards him. Corvus raised an eyebrow at them.

“Is there any reason you’re all looking at me?”

“Yes.” Henrith nodded.

“Definitely.” Aria agreed.

“And that is?” Corvus tilted his head.

“Are you sure that you two have no relationship?” Aria leaned on her elbows.

“Certain.”

“Worth a try.” Henrith chuckled to himself.

Corvus looked towards the rooms, trying to figure out which belonged to him.

“Last door on the left.” May called, noticing his confusion.

“Cheers.” Corvus called back, walking towards the room.

The stone doors that lined the small corridor were perfectly uniform, save for the green writing that was etched into the surface. After a few seconds of looking at the writing, the letters twisted and shifted into Damian’s name. With several other glances, the letters all shifted back into place, revealing the names of everyone’s rooms. The last door on the left was purely black, without any form of writing on it.

Corvus placed the box on the ground, then pressed his hand on the smooth stone. The door rumbled, creeping open slowly. The room was steeped in darkness, different from the void that was in the other doors. There were no green lights inside, no fluttering felias and no life at all, but only a constant low hum. Corvus looked towards the floor, his eyes widening slightly.

There was a line of black runes just behind the door. Corvus looked to his sling, recognising the same runes.

“It seems they’re faster than you thought.” Gilgamesh noted, leaning against Johanna’s door.

Corvus ignored him, picking the box back up and striding into the darkness of his new room.

Immediately, there was a flash of green light on the door that caught Corvus’ eye. He turned to see ‘Corvus’ seep out of the stone in green light. The door began to swing shut, slowly shrinking the beam of orange light, abandoning Corvus to the deep shadows.

A hand reached out and stopped the door from closing completely. It pushed the door open again, letting the orange light in once more. The dark figure walked in, its bright ruby eyes glinting towards him. It held the door open with its foot, letting enough light in.

It reached into its pocket, pulling out a glinting candle and tinderbox, offering them to Corvus.

“I thought you’d want some light.” Johanna’s voice was low and soft.

Corvus put down his box, reaching his hand out and receiving the gifts.

“Johanna, thank—” Corvus began.

She put a finger to his lips, stopping him from finishing.

“Don’t thank me.” She whispered, reaching her other arm out and wrapping them around the back of his neck so that she was hugging him. “Just promise that you’ll invite me in here when you want to tell me who you really are, Corvus.” She leaned forward, so he could feel her breath on his face.

“We don’t need to hide ourselves from each other.” Her voice was so quiet that Corvus could barely hear it.

She released her arms, slowly turning around and walking back to the door. She stopped and glanced back at the confused and slightly dumbfounded Corvus with a slightly sad smile.

“Don’t forget to light your candle.” Her ruby eyes disappeared behind the closing door.

The light vanished entirely, leaving pure darkness.

There was a spark. Another spark. Then another.

The candle lit up the room, producing a hypnotic, unnaturally bright orange light. The candle itself was made of black wax with small glints of gemstone in it, seemingly appearing and disappearing at will.

Corvus put the candle down on a nearby table and collapsed onto the chair that came with it. His mind was reeling from what just happened, trying to make sense of it in any way possible.

‘What was she talking about? Hide what? Did she know I was lying? Why did she hug me?’ Corvus’ mind raced as he tried to think. As if on cue, Gilgamesh appeared to interrupt that train of thought.

“Well. That was fun.”