Solar Eclipse

Chapter 1

N1 reporting.

To the secret society of ALKA supporters,

I must concede. I am genuinely SO tired of these two dancing around each other and not making use of the opportunities that the universe has literally handed them on a silver platter, that I have decided to take things up in my own hands. My actions are taken as a final desperate attempt at making this work and if it seems presumptuous of me, then I apologize. But you must understand how excruciating it can be for a friend from their Akademiya days to watch them stare at each other and K0 thinking "wow A0's glare is even nastier than usual today". Like, my guy, he is giving you the look, do you not understand?! Even Lambad is looking at you two with that fondness in his eyes!

I will be going in today to put a proper end to this mess, the 'go big or go home' way. Pray for my success if you call yourself a proud and pining member of our society, I'm sure Lesser Lord Kusanali is on our side.

Like, actually.

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"Kaveh, do you wanna have a few drinks with me tonight? I have some things I need to talk to you about."

I know it is a cheap trick to get him to listen to me more easily but honestly, at this point, I don't even care. I just want him to realize his standing in Alhaitham's life and I simply cannot afford to be picky about my methods anymore.

"Uh, sure? I just finished a commission this morning so I was thinking of celebrating a little at Lambad's anyways. But what is this about, Nadiah? You sound awfully serious, is everything okay?"

Poor thing has no idea where this conversation is going tonight. Well, he never has any idea about these things, that is kind of the problem to begin with.

"Yes, dear, everything is okay, it's just my sanity, nothing much. Anyway, see you after dinner then?"

Mentioning my sanity earned me a really concerned look for— can you guess it— my sanity, but he agreed nonetheless. Tonight will be a big night for more than just me if things go well.

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Lambad's is already quite packed when I get there. Maybe I should not have stuffed my face too much before this meet-up and should have arrived earlier to get a seat at a quiet corner. But what can I do, ever since my Akademiya days, getting nervous has always made me eat more.

I see many familiar faces as I look around to get us two seats when-

"NADIAH!"

I try to follow the booming voice and look up and oh, how relieved I am to see Kaveh seated at a table on the second floor — the very floor that he designed for the tavern — and even more relieved to see him having downed a few glasses already. Good, him being a bit drunk beforehand will make me less suspicious. However, getting too drunk would be a problem in its own right. He needs at least something of a clear head to think about all this or else he will forget everything in the morning! Okay, no more drinking for him for the rest of the night.

I wave my hand at him and start walking up the stairs.

"Thanks for coming even earlier than me and saving us a seat here. I didn't think it'd be this crowded this early!"

"It's no problem at all. I'm a regular here so I know exactly how late I can afford to come to still be able to catch the best seats! But you're right, it is a bit more crowded than usual tonight. Oh, but, hey, sorry I started drinking before you arrived. Alhaitham just had to open his big mouth before I left home and I thought some wine in my system could get me in a better mood before you could get here."