Serenity Academy

Chapter Fourteen: Nivora

The group left together weaving through the halls until they found themselves in the cafeteria. Kyroth had checked the schedule noticing that they had roughly three hours before they had to be back. "Well guys, I think I am going to take my lunch to the park." He had ventured a bit during his off time and found that a large wooded area was in the area with a pond. It reminded him of home so he frequently went there to be by himself.

Piling his plate full of mostly finger foods he got a lid on it and left, leaving the rest of his team behind. He had given up trying to actually bond with most of them, it was clear that if they wanted to bond they would have or will choose to do so later. It took about twenty minutes for him to make his way out of the castle and to the edge of the park.

Most of the trees were actually unfamiliar to him but a tree generally was a tree. Small unique creatures could be seen running around. The little things were flecked with sparse traces of elemental energy. Kyroth was pretty sure he had found a squirrel for each element. The only real difference was the coloration, he had seen nothing else to separate them.

The paths were cobblestone, weaving in and out of the trees and flowers that were clearly placed where they were. It was made to look natural but he knew natural and these flowers had been strategically placed. Had he not spent most of his life studying plants and how they grew he would never have known. Arriving at the pond he stayed away from the edge picking a bench ten feet away or so.

Slowly he started to eat the food occasionally tossing them to the side watching as the elemental squirrels came over and snatched it up. He was surprised to see that very few people ventured to the area. Every time he had been to the little park he had seen less then a dozen people at any given time.

Footsteps could be heard on the cobblestone as Kyroth continued to eat and feed his new little friends not really caring about who was approaching. So naturally he was surprised to find Nivora standing next to him her own plate of food in hand. "Mind if I join you?" She asked sitting before he could even answer.

"Well, since you did, sure why not. Why the sudden interest, I mean since I got here you have made it very clear how useless I am." Kyroth stated a bit of venom in his own mouth. He got along with most but for some reason Nivora just did not like him.

She sat in silence for a little bit nibbling on her piece of chicken watching the squirrels fight over the pieces of food Kyroth threw to them. "I wanted to apologize." She blurted out quietly stuffing another piece of chicken into her mouth.

Kyroth stopped mid throw and turned to look at her, she was facing the pond avoiding eye contact. "Did, I just hear that right?" He asked a bit shocked after everything that had happened so far. "I also just assumed you treated everyone that way." He added matter of factually to her.

"I do actually." Nivora stated turning to look at him, a bit of her seriousness had softened letting her seem approachable. "I have a purpose here, and I cannot let anything or anyone get in the way of that. So I tend to just cut people out preventing them from possibly do such things."

"That makes sense, so why come out here now?" Kyroth asked a squirrel hoping into his lap and snatched his entire plate scurrying off. "You little jerk." Kyroth yelled at the little fur ball laughing as he did so.

Nivora stared into her hands as she fidgeted for a few minutes before speaking up. "Well, after seeing how you went to Syn and comforted her I realized maybe keeping people out could hinder me." A little red came across her cheeks as she spoke.

Kyroth understood now, Nivora was probably just as lonely as he was. None of them had opened up and let the others in. "So then tell me why do you have to be the best?" It was obvious with how competitive she was that her goal was to become the best she could be.

"I will tell you, if you tell me your secret first." Nivora stated her face going back to being serious looking him dead in the eyes. The look was unsettling, it made Kyroth feel that she was not going to leave without the knowledge she sought.

Shaking his head he laughed a little, "Secret, I do not believe I have one." He was stating what he felt was the truth. He was a ordinary country boy who had gained magical powers.

"Do not play me a fool. I have seen the looks Assera gives you when she is explaining things. There is something between those looks and I know it." Nivora almost shouted as she got up and stormed several feet away before stopping tapping her foot in frustration.

Feeling awkward, Kyroth got up and walked next to her staring down into the water of the pond. "I did not know that was considered a secret. Those looks come because I could somehow activate my powers before I got to the Academy. As well as what you guys have witnessed being able to cast Full Augment instead of the normal one." Kyroth admitted stuffing his hands into his pockets.

A long silence came over them as the water rippled every time a leaf fell onto the water. A gentle breeze had picked up causing a pleasant flowery aroma to surround them both. Kyroth could not quite pick out what flowers they were, probably something not found in Gallia.

"That is quite big but not nearly secret worthy, I am sorry again for assuming something was more then it really is. It explains how you have been so advanced in our current studies." Nivora stated, her face full of thought.

Shaking her head, the braid swinging over to the front over her shoulder as she did so. "I am so driven because my country needs me. So many people are slaves to those with magic, my parents included. When I Awakened, I knew that this meant I could become strong enough to do something about it." Nivora stated her voice back to its cold normal tone. A single tear slipped down her face dropping into the pond.

Kyroth did not know what to do, he reached to make physical contact but pulled back. "I am so sorry to hear that. I did not know what it would feel to live that way. If there is anything I can do to help I will." He stated, truly meaning his words not just saying them to try and make her feel better.

Wiping her cheek she turned to him and nodded, "Thank you, if you tell anyone else about this though I will kill you." Nivora hissed walking past him towards the school. "Lets go, we better not be late for class." Looking up Kyroth noticed they had been gone for over a hour, it had not felt like that at all.