Chapter Text
The weather lately has been rather rocky. It was constantly thundering, especially in the afternoons, and the sun was practically nowhere in sight. Grey clouds filled the sky, making it impossible to distinguish between night and day, and lightning tended to flash and reign ever so often. Every now and then it would rain, or at times even snow.
Why, a new academic year at NRC had just begun, and a myriad of issues had come to the rise. Within the first week itself, they had an overblot at Heartslabyul. Riddle Rosehearts, the dorm leader, had fallen victim.
It had been a week since then, and things had somewhat settled down.
Not the weather, however, most certainly not. Ever since a few days after Riddle’s overblot, the weather had been as weird as it could get.
It wasn’t that the weather was warranted, it was out of place and unusual. The weather forecast made no predictions of such weather, finding it erratic and unable to deduce its cause. Additionally, it mainly seemed to be centered just about Night Raven College.
Still, not much mind was paid to it by the students themselves. Although they did question curiously the reason behind such an oddity, the atmosphere was no different from their usual one, just as gloomy and unforgiving.
Malleus’s first year at Night Raven College was.. well, it wasn't a chaotic year, but it was nothing short of eventful at the very least. It was Malleus's first time leaving Briar Valley for this long, and also his first time interacting with humans, and all he had for guidance was Lilia.
Within the first two weeks itself, he had managed to attain the position of Housewarden. Lilia subsequently took over the seat of vice-housewarden.
Over the course of one year, Malleus had learnt a lot of new things, about humans, human society, as well as discovered some new things about himself. He had a lot of good experiences, but if there was one thing he had come to dislike, it would be the fact that people tended to avoid him. He was told that such experiences came with the aid of companionship, wherein you meet new people and make cherished friends, with whom you'd make memories that lasted a lifetime.
Malleus begged to differ. People scampered like rats whenever he stepped into a room, all panicked and fear-struck. If he tried to approach anyone, they would begin to stammer and immediately run away before even hearing him out. It made him feel lonely. It felt like Briar Valley all over again, but he supposed that at the very least, he got to spend more time with Lilia.
Then, in his second year, enter: his classmate, Cater Diamond.
The boy.. truly was an enigma to Malleus, and not in a mysterious way, but rather with.. his language. He had come to learn from Lilia that all the odd things Diamond would include in his sentences was merely internet lingo-- a concept Malleus had familiarized himself with, but had yet to fully dissect and understand.
However, putting that aside, Cater Diamond was one of the only people who wouldn't immediately cower and run away at Malleus' presence. Initially, the boy was definitely intimidated somewhat, but he didn't run away. And eventually, the more they interacted, any fear of Malleus residing within him faded away.
And so, Malleus made his first 'friend', or so Lilia called it. Lilia had also befriended Diamond, albeit a year prior itself. They were both in the same club; and also the only two members of the club (although they received a new member during their second year who was now also great friends with the two of them). He seemed to like him as well.
Summer break came and went, practically breezing by with the blink of an eye-- At least for Malleus. He spent most of it performing his duties as the heir apparent of Briar Valley, and then a few cherished moments with Lilia, Silver and Sebek.
However, with the end of summer break, came the start of third year. It came to Malleus’ notice that he and Cater Diamond were no longer in the same class, which was.. disappointing.
It was on the third day of the second week, of the start of their third year, that he finally got to see Cater again.
Cater had just moved out of the magic analysis classroom, since it was his last class of the day. He definitely was no genius at it, but he was.. passing by.
As for Cater’s Night Raven experience.. it was.. interesting, surely.
His first year.. he met Trey that year. Someone.. well, it was hard to position the nature of his relationship with the dear baker currently. Someone Cater found himself seeking the company of, yet fearing getting too close to. Outside of that, their housewarden that year was.. nothing short of a mess. Too lax. Uncaring. Letting Heartslabyul run off without any reigns.
His second year started with quite the buzz, what with Trey's alleged childhood friend, Riddle Rosehearts, becoming a student of their dorm and planning to challenge their current housewarden for his position. Not that Cater minded, since as aforementioned, their housewarden at the time.. sucked, to put it in simple terms.
Then came the tyranny, and things only got busier.
Third year simply seemed to kick off with chaos from the very get go, namely a duo of troublemakers from their very dorm– their dearest Adeuce combo, aided with the help of the magicless prefect of the Ramshackle dorm. The whole unbirthday party and its preparations. Riddle’s overblot.
Great Seven, it had all been such a mess, and frankly, Cater was exhausted. It had been so much to deal with, and Cater was always the one who ended up pulling everything together from behind the scenes, so the overload of work was real.
He had been lost in thoughts, thinking about his days to come, when they were abruptly brought to a stop with him bumping into a wall– no wait, not a wall.. walls didn’t wear NRC’s school uniform..
Cater glanced up, only to find Malleus there. His class– well, ex-classmate, who he had somehow.. befriended..? Cater wasn't sure if they were friends, and he sure as hell wasn't going to question it.
"Malleus-kun!" Cater greeted with his usual smile, giving the taller boy a wave.
Malleus paused in his steps, as the familiar ginger-haired male with leaf-green eyes came into sight, with that smile.. one that was all too familiar to Malleus.
“..Diamond.” Malleus greeted back, as he stepped closer to stand in front of Cater, “It’s lovely seeing you. How has your summer been?”
Malleus internally berated himself for the way his voice toned a tad bit too soft, albeit it wasn’t something anyone but him (and perhaps Lilia) would notice. As to why it did so.. well, that was something he wasn’t so keen on figuring out for whatever indiscernible reason.
"My summer?" Cater blinked, before letting out a sheepish chuckle.
Cater didn't expect to see Malleus, frankly, and neither did he expect the other to actually even approach him. Could you blame him for thinking that way, though? This was Malleus Draconia, heir apparent of Briar Valley, King-to-be, Diasomnia's housewarden, a top five ranking mage in the world… the list just went on, and Cater..
Cater was literally just another guy.
"Oh, y'know, the usual– my sisters running me rugged with work and all. But otherwise, a #cool one, LOL. How about yours?"
His sisters running him rugged with work? What would that entail, Malleus wished to know. But, Cater again (a pattern that Malleus had slowly begun to notice) made sure to shift the topic before Malleus could dig any further.
Malleus noticed the way Cater tended to dance around certain topics, always giving answers too vague or too brief. The way his gaze tended to wander, till he would finally steer the conversation in another direction, more often than not shifting the focus onto someone else. His answers never truly felt.. real, to say the least.
Sometimes Malleus questioned if it was because Cater simply didn’t trust him. Or perhaps, he still secretly feared Malleus but felt pressured to act friendly in front of him due to Malleus’s status. He wouldn’t be the first of that kind.
But it was in those times that Malleus recalled moments from their second year. Private moments, meant to be kept in between them.
That one time that Cater brought him to the Light Music Club room during one of their free lectures, and when nudged slightly by Malleus, played a bit of the guitar for him. Distracted by the sound of his guitar, Cater seemed to have been so immersed that he had forgotten everything around him.
And it was then that Malleus saw a side to Cater he never knew existed in the ginger-haired male. A gentle side. One whose smile didn’t stretch wide, but it felt freer and more genuine. The scene truly felt like something one could only stumble upon once in a blue moon.
It was because he had seen this side of Cater, that he knew there was more to him than met the eye. And that it wasn’t that he was lying to Malleus, just that.. he tended to hide, and the people he tended to hide from.. well, the list spanned across more people than just Malleus himself.
Malleus found many times that Lilia was on the same wavelength as Malleus when it came to the know about Cater, and at some point he realized it was simply because Lilia had never really seen any reason to dig deeper, much unlike Malleus, who had found himself wanting to know more about this diamond he had found.
For now, Malleus decided to let it go. He wished not to scare Cater away by any means.
“My summer.. I was mostly preoccupied with royal duties, albeit I had brief windows to visit Lilia.”
Then, feeling somewhat vulnerable amidst this moment reserved between the two of them, a confession slipped.
“I missed seeing you.”
Cater's eyes widened immediately, caught off guard by Malleus' confession. It was Malleus' first time seeing Cater with such an expression.
Sure, Cater had had his dumb-founded expressions, or mildly surprised or perplexed ones from when Malleus did things that seemed to be uncommon practices in human society, but this was.. genuine surprise, and a small crack in a mask.
Cater was quick to compose himself, as he momentarily shyly glanced away, before shifting his gaze back to Malleus with a small smile.
"Aww, Malleus-kun, so sweet~! I missed you too! It's such a shame we aren't classmates anymore~"
Sweet, huh. Never in Malleus’ life had such a word ever been used in the same sentence as his name, especially in a positive way, conveyed with a delighted and sincere tone– but there was a first time for everything, so the saying goes.
He found himself enjoying the act of catching Cater off-guard. He might indulge in doing so again, should he get the chance.
Then—realizing how awkwardly silent he'd gone after such an emotional admission earlier—the dragon fae cleared his throat and straightened up once more before adding:
“I.. too, dislike our schedules no longer aligning. Perhaps.. to make up for it, you would indulge me in a walk?”
If someone told Cater that the Malleus Draconia said that he missed Cater Diamond, verbally, no cap, then Cater wouldn't believe them. It wasn't possible, like,, at all. At all. Only in Cater's dreams– and even then, it was a ‘maybe’ at most.
But it happened somehow. The stars aligned, Cater supposed.
And now.. now Malleus was asking him out on a walk. Cater... Cater was ready to wake up from his dream already, or whatever this delusion was.
And.. while he, so badly, did want to accompany Malleus on a walk..
"Ah, the thing is–"
"Cater!" A voice called out to Cater, exiting the classroom door that Cater had exited from a few minutes prior.
Malleus recognized the boy, for he was from Diasomnia and also a fellow third year. A rather playful and charismatic character, with messy midnight-black hair and mischievous yellow-garnet eyes. Elegant earrings adorned his ears. His uniform was worn slightly loose, with him wearing the usual black blazer, and underneath lay Diasomnia’s green vest and the white button-up. It felt easy-going yet sharp at the same time.
"Oh," The boy– Vesper Astaroth’s gaze shifted to Malleus, as a thin smile spread across his lips, "Dorm Leader Draconia. Good afternoon to you."
“Astaroth.” Malleus acknowledged curtly, “Good afternoon to you as well.”
Because certainly, he simply had to intrude just as Malleus got the chance to speak to Cater after such a long time. Just as Cater was about to give him a response to the invitation he had handed out to him.
"I didn't expect to see you here, Draconia-san," Vesper said, as he walked closer to them. With a chuckle, he added, "Not that it’s a bad thing, of course."
Vesper had become familiar with Cater as they were classmates this year– and of course, seeing how familiar Cater had gotten with their dearest Dorm Leader, everyone was only bound to be curious– including Vesper himself. So, he decided to 'befriend' Cater Diamond.
Vesper's gaze shifted to Cater, as he placed an arm on Cater's shoulder with a light apologetic smile, albeit his eyes swirled with amusement.
"Sorry it took me a while, Cater. Trein-sensei wanted to discuss some stuff. Ah, but.. indulge my curiosity– I didn't know you and Draconia-san were friends."
“Ah.. yeah, I mean, me and Malleus-kun grew close last year as classmates,” Cater chuckled.
Malleus refrained from letting out a small huff. He wasn’t sure what was making his scales ruffle as they were, but he truly felt like burning Vesper up immediately. Be it the way his gaze was fixed on Cater with that peculiar look in his eyes, or the way his hand lingered on Cater’s shoulder longer than it should have, or the way he stood so close to Cater…
“It is as Diamond has stated.” Malleus confirmed, shifting his gaze to the side momentarily so as to compose himself.
Vesper... well. Vesper wasn't stupid.
The second those words left Malleus’s lips in that cool, composed tone? The atmosphere shifted ever so slightly—like the air had thickened with unspoken tension between the two males sizing each other up over something they both wanted to be close to: Cater.
Vesper’s smile didn’t fade—but it did change. Still cheerful on the surface… but his yellow-garnet eyes glinted with sudden mirth and mischief as he looked between them again.
"Ohhh?" He drew out the sound playfully before grinning wider than before—if possible—and leaning into Cater even more casually, as he teased: "Well, given Draconia-san’s refined tastes, I’m sure he has quite the keen eye for friends– meaning you, Cater, must be a one of a kind gem. A diamond, you could say~"
Malleus’s jaw tightened imperceptibly.
It was clear that Vesper was attempting to flirt with Cater. That too, right in front of him, like it was nothing at all, as if Malleus wasn’t standing there listening to every word, bristling beneath his composed exterior.
The way Vesper leaned into Cater—so close now their shoulders were practically touching—and that ridiculous pun about diamonds—it made something hot and sharp coil in Malleus’s chest.
He didn't like it.
Not one bit.
But what could he do? He couldn't just order Vesper to back off because he felt… whatever this bitter, burning emotion even was.. toward someone who had every right to be friendly with a classmate?
"...Cater is indeed unique, so I have come to learn from our time together." Malleus said evenly after a beat of silence, voice lower than before—but laced with quiet intensity now— as if trying to assert that the position of his friendship with Cater was higher than that of Vesper’s.
"I’m certain you have other responsibilities awaiting you elsewhere, it’s best you–"
"Ah, but," Vesper hooked his arm around Cater's, an amusing smile dancing on his lips, "I'm afraid Cater and I have prior arrangements, Draconia-san. He's promised to tutor me in astrology today, and I would hate to waste his precious time by not doing so."
It was true, of course. Cater did agree to tutor him, given that whilst Cater was a little lacking in other subjects, Astrology was his best subject which he tended to excel in, alongside Flying.
But boy oh boy, was Vesper enjoying making Malleus lose his composure this way.
And he was enjoying having Cater so close to him too, not to have his intentions mistaken. By all means, he did adore the ginger-haired male's company, as well as the fact that he was rather intrigued and enticed by what this seemingly simple classmate of his hid behind that veil of a facade of his..
He pulled Cater closer to him, "No, Cater?"
Cater.. very clearly felt the tension. But he assumed it was some inner dorm feud that he had no idea about– and he most definitely did not want to get in between it! As much as he wanted to get out of this situation, he had promised Vesper that he would tutor him today after classes. Vesper had approached him yesterday, asking for help with Astrology since Cater seemed to be so adept at it, and insisted on having Cater help him despite Cater’s warnings of how he wasn’t all too great of a teacher.
Cater didn’t know what was up, but Vesper seemed a bit too interested in him, for whatever reason it was.
“Sorry, Malleus-kun,” Cater said with an apologetic smile, “I did promise Vesper-kun that I’d tutor him today. Think we can get a rain check on that walk?”
Malleus.. felt his heart sink at that. Cater had made prior plans, so he didn’t fault him for prioritizing them over last minute plans of a walk with Malleus, but it still.. stung. In ways Malleus did not understand.
He recalled the last time he felt something akin to this. It had been when Lilia had brought Silver to his home. The tiny, human baby.. who effortlessly stole all of Lilia’s attention away with his little incoherent babbles and constant whining and crying for attention, despite practically being drowned with it.
He had yet to understand that feeling as well.
To think he of all people felt something like this..
Malleus did not like the thought. So, he pushed it aside.
“... I understand. Seeing you have duties to attend to, I shall not keep you from them any longer, Diamond. Take care.”
“Ah.. alright,” Cater said, a hint of disappointment underlying in his tone before he quickly caught it and composed himself, his lips spreading into his usual smile, “Catch ya’ later Malleus-kun!”
Vesper's brow twitched momentarily, before he quickly composed himself.
"Well then, if that's settled, excuse me, Draconia-san~" Vesper grinned, as he began tugging Cater away, "I'll be borrowing Cater now. Have a wonderful day!"
Saying that, he intertwined his fingers with Cater's own, brushing aside some of the stray hair falling over Cater's face behind his ear, before dragging Cater away with him to the Astrology tower.
Thunder crackled in the distance, and hence marked the day from whence the weird weather started.