Grey set his backpack down on the wooden floor, looking around at the shared quarters. They had just gotten back from eating at a restaurant downstairs, and were feeling sleepy from the meal. The room was rustic-looking, and paneled tastefully in dark wood. There was a single lamp on a nightstand and some holo-mags in a rack on the wall. He nodded appreciatively and felt the sheets on the top-bunk mattress.
"These are super nice," he said to Azeris, who was fixing her hair in a mirror. "Compared to the ones at the Academy anyway. My bed there is like a slab of granite."
"Thinking about sharing your bunk with someone?" Elric teased, his mouth full of toothpaste.
"Don't be vulgar, Elric," Azeris scolded him, inspecting her eyeshadow in the mirror.
"What? It's practically the worst-kept secret in the Federation." Elric went back into the bathroom and spat in the sink. "I think they're really cute together."
"I don't really think she thinks of me like that," Grey said quietly. "I think it just gets lonely, being her."
"Grey, are you alright?" Azeris asked gently, turning around. "You're being really quiet and mopey."
Grey was silent for a moment, brushing his hands over the bed sheet. "Do you guys think it's weird? For us to feel things like love or wanting to share a life with someone?"
"Why is that weird?" Elric said, coming out of the bathroom with a washrag. "It's human nature, Grey."
"I meant, is it weird for us? It feels like they only let us feel those things because they strengthen the bonds between teammates. Even then, it feels like it gets in the way..."
Grey was cut off by an ear-splitting thunderclap, and the windows started to rattle. The students all blinked at each other, confused, and then all simultaneously ran to the windows. There was a column of smoke billowing up toward the sky, coming from the hills to the North of Martata.
"What's going on?" Azeris whispered, her eyes wide with terror. "Are we under attack from the Khagilosi?"
Grey looked behind him; Outside of their room, the chaperone and the other adults were conversing nervously, and one of them began sprinting down the hall. They didn't know what was going on either.
"Holy crap, look!" Elric cried.
Grey watched as something blasted into the air, away from the site of the explosion; It was fast, unbelievably so, and before long it was gone, leaving behind a hole in a cloud as it went.
Grey glanced behind him again at the chaperone, who was sweating profusely. He squeezed at his own head, as he stared down at the tablet that he used to track the students... one of whom he had let go a few hours ago to her own devices.
Grey dashed out of the room, almost knocking the chaperone over.
“Hey! Don’t go anywhere! Come back, now!” The chaperone shouted, but Grey didn’t heed his words.
His vision was narrowed to the head of a pin as he almost tripped running down the stairs, pushing through the other students and hostel guests. He threw open the door, almost crashing into a group of bystanders who were staring dumbstruck at the column of smoke, when arms pulled him back from behind.
“Let me go!” Grey screamed, struggling against Elric.
“Dude, you need to calm down!” Elric grunted, holding Grey’s arms and his hands clasped against Grey’s head. “You don’t even know what’s going on yet!”
“That’s her dad’s house!” Grey shouted, trying to get himself out of Elric’s headlock. “Fucking let me go, Elric!”
Elric relented, and Grey pushed him off, feeling instantly guilty at the look on Elric’s face. Grey exhaled angrily, and fixed his eyes on the column of smoke.
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