Chapter Text
Kalim Pov
For Kalim, birthdays were the most important celebration out there. It was a chance to give without restraints, to show how much he appreciated the people in his life, a way to celebrate someone, and most importantly, the fact that they were still alive and survived a whole other year!
And there was no one who deserved more celebrating than Jamil.
For the first time in his whole entire life, Kalim was the first one to wake up. He was out of bed and stretching before the alarm rang. It wasn’t as early as they had been getting up for training, so it almost felt like he was able to sleep in! He couldn’t help it, he was just so excited!
This also meant that it was finally HIS turn to wake up his roommates!
Or it would be if Marion hadn’t almost instantly woken up after him. Maybe he shouldn’t have jumped down.
“Kalim? It’s eight AM…” The cat yawned, whispering so as not to wake up his brothers.
“Today is the DAY!” Kalim exclaimed, arms in the air as he twirled around, and received a few groans in response. Well, that was one way to wake everyone up!
“It’s too early…” Jaime groaned, throwing his pillow at Kalim, who dodged it easily.
“But we have to get ready!” Kalim exclaimed. “So much to check and prepare and-”
“At least he is back to normal…” Liam yawned, stretching out his tail. “Excitement fits him way better than anxiety…”
“For once, I agree,” Marion nodded as he shook the other two cats up. “Alright! Let’s see what we got for today… gotta make a good first impression!”
Kalim beamed and rushed to his section of the closet. What to wear, what to wear…. Oh! Maybe he could ask Jamil what he’ll be wearing and see if he can try to match! Knowing him, probably something red…He always looked good in red… but there’s no harm in checking!
K <3
GOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING~!!!!!!!!!
I know it’s early, but do you have any idea what you are gonna wear today?
To Kalim's delight, Jamil didn't take long to respond at all! He didn’t say anything, but rather sent him a picture from in front of a mirror. Hah! Kalim was right! RED!
“You HAVE to be kidding me!” Marion’s protests sounded directly into Kalim’s ear. Only then did he notice the cat was looking over his shoulder.
“What's wrong?” Kalim asked, tiling his head. Jamil’s clothing looked great to him! His favorite sleeveless red hoodie, his hair half braided and done up in a ponytail, those name brand sneakers he’d been so pleased to show off to Kalim…
Marion let out an exasperated sigh. “Nothing… it's just… the clothes he sent you to school with suddenly make way more sense…”
“I mean… I did tell him to wear something comfortable…” Kalim didn’t understand what exactly Marion was implying, but he wasn’t about to let any Jamil slander stand on his birthday! “We will be moving around a lot…”
“Marion, not everyone is as obsessed with fashion as you are,” Liam said, picking Marion up from the scruff of his neck and pulling him away from Kalim. “Let the boy breathe.”
Marion hissed as he kicked his legs in the air. “PUT ME DOWN!”
“You fought a tigerbeastman yesterday,” Jaime said. “And you can't free yourself from a scruff hold?”
“IT'S A CAT THING!” Marion protested with a huff.
“Please put him down.” Hector sighed. “He will bite you.”
Liam looked at Marion, who was starting to growl, fangs flashing, and clearly decided it wasn’t worth it. He put him down and stepped back while lifting his hand in surrender. “Noted.”
Marion huffed and brushed his fingers through his tail to un-puff it.
“How are your fangs so sharp? And how are you so light?”
“I am still a carnivore,” Marion responded with the flick of an ear. “My size won’t change that…”
“Okay!” Henri clapped his hands together. “We have a long day ahead of us! So we should be getting ready!”
Kalim’s whole face lit up, and started flipping his hands in excitement. “Yes!!!! Come on! We gotta get ready!” He looked through his clothes; he knew he had a red tank top here somewhere…
“And breakfast,” Jaime added, crossing his arms. “We are not letting you skip it again, you are gonna need the energy!”
Kalim wanted to complain, but Jaime had a point… he couldn’t risk getting dizzy with Jamil there! He didn’t want to ruin it! And also didn’t want Jamil to scold him about skipping meals…
“Ok, fine, breakfast and THEN we get ready!” Kalim grinned over his shoulder as he ran out of their room. “Last one there is a rotten egg!”
The others shouted after him, as they hurried to follow, but Kalim wasn’t listening. It was like all the excitement inside his body was spilling out into speed. He was FINALLY going to see Jamil again! Not only was he going to see him again, he had actually earned it! He can’t remember ever earning something… it felt great!
Kalim skipped all the way to the kitchen, beating out even Jaime, whose longer legs meant he was usually the fastest, to the door. But when he opened it, he found himself met by a sea of colourful cupcakes and pancakes.
“Uuhhh…”
“¡Ostia!” Jaime exclaimed as he caught up. “Did a pasty store explode here?”
“Hey guys!” Raphael greeted them with a smile on his flour-covered face. “Hope you are hungry!”
“Those are so many sweet treats…” Marion gasped as he, his brothers and Liam joined the other two.
“Raps had a… baking craving,” Caspian said, stepping from behind a mountain of cupcakes “You’ll get used to them…”
“I just woke up and felt like baking! So I made breakfast for the whole dorm… OH! I should take some to the other dorms! I am sure Wonderlust would love them-”
That sounded like a rather momentous task. The kind that would have Jamil stressing like crazy. But Kalim couldn’t be concerned about it if he wanted to… this solved the breakfast issue! Plus, maybe they could bring some with them! If they were half as good as the ones he made the other day, he knew they’d be amazing!
“Is this… normal?” Marion asked, staring at the mountains of cupcakes and pancakes.
“Well… usually J and Kumar are here to help us taste test them,” Raps answered, flipping a pancake. “But they are at Spelldrive practice right now.”
Great, another thing to add to the growing list of things they knew about their mysterious housewarden!
After making sure the cupcakes were safe to eat, (By watching Liam and Jaime eat like three each in less than a minute) the rest joined in on the feast, stuffing their faces while discussing their plans for the day.
“You know, you look a lot happier when you talk about Jamil, which is saying something because you’re usually so happy already,” Jaime said in a somewhat teasing tone. “You must really like him.”
Kalim blinked at him over a half eaten pancake. “Of course I do, he is my favourite person in the world! You guys already know that!”
“We do,” Marion confirmed, finishing his cupcake. “But it’s just so cute how your whole face lights up!”
Kalim cocked his head. He didn’t know his face did that!
Marion poked Kalim’s cheek. “Cute!”
Kalim couldn’t help but laugh a bit. “Alright, alright! I guess I just can’t help it! I’ve just missed him…”
“Are we not good enough company?” Liam gasped dramatically, “You wound us.”
Kalim chuckled. “Hey don’t worry! You guys are great company! Just… Not Jamil.”
“No way we can compete with that,” Jaime agreed.
“Yeah, we gotta know our place,” Henri added with a grin.
They were definitely implying something, but Kalim was to excited to bother to figure it out. Stuffing his last pancake in his mouth, he stood up. “Alright! Breakfast eaten! LET’S GET READY!”
And, with that, he unceremoniously left the kitchen to get first call for the showers. He was NOT waiting anymore! He had to look his best… Without overdoing it.
To Marion’s dismay, and besides his protests, the group dressed up in casual, comfortable clothing so that they could get dirt and paint splashed on it without causing any real damage. It wasn’t perfect, but it was practical. And despite Marion’s annoyance, Henri and Hector looked incredibly pleased with themselves.
“Look at it from the bright side,” Hector teased. “You still look way more fashionable than all of us combined, and that’s your worst.”
“But I wanted to make a good impression…” Marion lamented.
“Being overdressed is as bad as being underdressed, innit?” Liam teased, earning stare from Marion.
“Well, this isn’t about ya, it’s about Kalim and Jamil,” Jaime reminded Marion, giving him a pat on the shoulder.
“Mostly about Jamil!” Kalim agreed as he applied his eyeliner. “It’s his birthday after all!”
The group finished getting ready and grabbed their bags, along with everything they had prepared for the party.
They left Shimmeringrough and headed towards the school’s exit, where they found Neige and Rielle waiting.
“Hey guys!” Neige greeted them. “Ready for the big day?”
Kalim laughed and bounced on the balls of his feet. “YES! So ready, SO EXCITED!”
“You got us just as excited!” Rielle cheered.
“Oh, good, I am not late!” Alex exclaimed as he joined the others.
“Lexie!” Che’nya purred, appearing over the blonde’s head.
“Brilliant…” Alex sighed before pointing at the baskets both Kalim and Neige were carrying “What’s that?”
“Oh! That’s the food for the picnic!” Kalim grinned.
“We are just going to carry it all day in baskets? Won’t it go bad?” Che’nya asked, tilting his head.
Wait, it would? Kalim hadn’t thought of that! Dang it, he was so excited he didn’t account for how the food would hold on with the september heat…
“Can we enchant the baskets or something? Does anyone know any food conservation spells?” Kalim asked his friends, starting to worry the whole plan was about to fall apart before even leaving the school grounds!
“I don’t mind staying behind for a bit,” Alex offered, taking a step away from Che’nya, who just snickered as a response.
“That could work” Liam nodded “I mean, if you are ok with it.”
“Actually, it would be great if you could!” Henri jumped in. “Jungli is at Spelldrive practice and since he doesn’t have a phone, we wouldn’t be able to tell him where we are… so it would be great if someone who’s in the group chat could go with him… you know, so he doesn’t get lost…”
Alex’s face turned a soft shade of pink. “Jungli? Uh- yeah, of course, no problem! I’ll just…” He reached for the baskets. “Keep these in the fridge for a bit longer, and then Jungli and I will join you guys!”
Kalim let out a sigh of relief, thank the seven for his friends… “Thank you, Alex, you are truly the best.”
Alex shook his head. “No need to thank me! I can use the extra time to read the play we are doing in Drama Club!”
“Alright, if that’s settled, and we are not waiting for anyone else…” Marion started.
“LET'S GO SEE JAMIL!” Kalim exclaimed with a bright smile as he was already rushing out.
It didn’t take long at all for the group to make it to town. The others were chatting about plans for this and that, but Kalim wasn’t paying much attention. No, his attention was focused on something much more important. Because as they walked towards the road to NRC, Kalim spotted a group a bit further up the path. And despite this group being far enough away that he couldn’t distinguish any features from the distance, he knew exactly who that brown blob in the sleeveless red hoodie was.
Jamil.
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JAMIL POV
Jamil didn’t put a whole lot of stake into the concept of birthdays. Not when he’d had to work every single one he’d ever had. A small cake split between him and Najima was enough for him. But he knew Kalim did.
To Kalim, birthdays were these huge events with feasts and parties that could last a whole week! Jamil would know, he had to work those birthdays. So when absently mentioned it was his birthday to Kalim back when he they were both children, and Kalim had thrown a fuss about them not doing anything special, he’d honestly been taken aback.
After that, Jamil and Kalim spent all their birthdays together, especially Jamil’s. Some had actually been pretty fun, like when Kalim took Jamil to the Asim’s menagerie and the two of them ran around petting the animals and playing. But most of the time, Kalim’s idea of a birthday was a big party, and as Kalim’s personal servant, it was Jamil’s job to help facilitate any whim he had for any party, even if it was a party thrown for Jamil himself.
But at least then, he’d had some control. He could ensure there would be food and activities he’d enjoy, even if he couldn’t stop Kalim from inviting all his “friends” because if they were Kalim’s friends, they had to be Jamil’s too! Like Jamil wanted to hang around a bunch of stuck-up nobles who were only playing nice to get in good with Kalim. At least no one was stupid enough to say something rude about getting invited to a servant's birthday party. Not anymore anyways.
Needless to say, he’d found himself growing increasingly anxious as the morning progressed. Hamad called it “Jamil’s Fuss Mode” when he’d made Hamad change his outfit twice. Aun called it jitters when he gently took over making breakfast after Jamil stirred the pot one too many times. Jean called it annoying as Hades and basically threatened to give Kalim a detailed play-by-play of the fight with Shar if he didn’t lay off.
When they finally made it out the door, somewhat suitably dressed, and on time, Jamil could feel his whole body thrumbing. He wished the others would walk faster. He ran over all the ways this was a terrible idea. There’s no way Kalim’s friends would like Jamil. They could probably smell the poor on him. Then they’d out him and expose his secrets to his friends, who would spread it all over school and…
“What’s wrong with him?” he could hear Floyd ask.
“Leave him be, he’s just panicking about introducing us all to Kalim,” Aun scolded. “You know what he’s like.”
They most certainly did not know what Jamil was like. He was not panicking. He was just running through the worst-case scenarios so that he would have a way to counter them. Yes. He was just being practical.
Why was everyone walking so slowly?
“Do not fear, Jamil,” Riddle sniffed. “I am here to keep everyone in line and behaving in accordance with the school code of conduct.” He glanced at Floyd. “Some needed more help than others.”
“Ahh! Goldfishie! You do care!” Floyd crowed.
“Please try to restrain yourself around Riddle, Floyd,” Azul sighed. “We are here on an important investment opportunity…I mean, to support our friend.” He coughed.
“Don’t go making Jamil’s boyfriend uncomfortable,” Hamad frowned. “Or he’ll never let us see him again.”
“Fufu. You young’ens really are a delight!” Lilia giggled as he and Silver caught up with them effortlessly. Jamil knew they were going too slow.
“Welcome,” Riddle sniffed. “I see you’ve made it, but not your lord.”
“He got held up. He said he’d meet us in the town.” Lilia smiled as he spoke, but Jamil wasn’t fooled. Malleus wouldn’t be coming. It was a relief, really, one less person to worry about.
Why didn’t he feel relieved?
They came into sight of the town, and a crowd was hanging around by the entrance. Locals? Other students? Or was it…?
A figure stepped forward, pearl grey hair flashing in the sun. Jamil couldn’t make out his features, but he could tell he was beaming from ear to ear.
Kalim.
Kalim broke into a run, away from his minders in the crowd and down the trail without a care in the world. Silly boy, didn’t he know there were snakes?
Jamil began moving towards him, his body responding to the long-trained need to follow Kalim, to be by his side, even as he was running full speed.
“Jamil!” Kalim cried, and Jamil couldn’t help but echo Kalim’s name in return, the closer they became.
They met in the middle of the road in a crash of bodies and limbs and far too much momentum that sent them toppling to the ground. Jamil had just enough sense left to brace a hand behind Kalim’s head and pull him closer so he’d land on Jamil instead of the hard ground. And then they were laid flat, gasping for the breath that had been stolen from them, Kalim on top and Jamil below.
He still smelled of coconut, but with slightly different notes underneath. Probably because he’d had to change the products he used to be simpler. Or bought new ones. Was that a hint of strawberry coming from his lips? Since when did he wear strawberry? He usually stuck to pomegranate.
“Jamil,” Kalim said again, voice softer, eyes shining. “I missed you.”
“Idiot,” Jamil murmured back, too soft for anyone else to hear but them in their own small bubble. “Of course you did. I missed you too.”
Kalim giggled, a sound clear as a bell, before burying his head in Jamil’s neck, his soft hair tickling his chin. “Happy birthday,” He whispered in Jamil’s ear.
Jamil ran his fingers through the soft, pearly locks, revelling in the feeling between his fingers. “It will be now,” He murmured back to Kalim, feeling content in a way he hadn’t since he’d come to Night Raven College, and perhaps even longer, since they’d last sat on that bench together as kids, free of the expectations their titles placed upon them. “Since you’re here.”
“Awww,” a coo snapped Jamil back to reality. Right. They had an audience. Damn it. They thought they were in a relationship, couldn’t they give them a minute?
He glared upwards at his friends as Kalim jumped off him, trying not to mourn the warmth of his body against his own. Only Aun and Riddle looked guilty at all. The rest looked either uncomfortable (like Jean and Azul), bored (like Floyd), or delighted (like Hamad and Lilia). Because of course they did. Why couldn’t they be more like Silver or Jade, whose faces were blank as they came? (Although that might be because Silver was distracted by Sahalia coming out of his sleeve to hiss in his ear).
“Hi!” Kalim beamed at Jamil’s friends, who definitely did not deserve it right now. “I’m Kalim! Nice to officially meet all of you!”
“Oh my?” Lilia giggled as he stepped forward to grab both of Kalim’s hands. “I hope that doesn’t include me and Silver!”
“Of course not!” Kalim beamed at Lilia. “I’m so glad to see you again! And you too Silver!” He added, leaning around Lilia to look back at the Silver-haired boy and the lizard on his shoulders. “And Sahalia! Did you have a good week in NRC?”
“He had a wonderful time,” Silver said, expression serious. “He also approves of your choice of partner.”
“Ahh, thank you!” Kalim said with a giggle, not even reacting to the rather obvious implications that he and Jamil were a couple, but still, Kalim’s obliviousness wouldn’t last forever, so Jamil stepped forward quickly to redirect the conversation.
“You’ve already met Aun, Hamad, and Jean,” He began, gesturing to each of them in turn. “And Riddle talked to you too, if you remember. He was the one who couldn’t handle spice.”
“E-excuse me?” Riddle sputtered, turning bright red.
“The one who kept eating!” Kalim beamed at Riddle. “Thank you so much! It’s not often someone from the Queendom of Roses tries to power through a proper amount of spice! It was really sweet of you!”
“Ahh, of course,” Riddle’s blush shifted from an angry red to a rosier hue of embarrassment. Jamil didn’t even realize different emotions had different shades of red. Maybe it was because Riddle was so pale. At least he was melting under the beam of happiness that was Kalim. That would keep any awkwardness out of the situation.
“You look very normal,” Riddle said next, and Jamil took back any faith he had in Riddle’s ability to avoid awkwardness.
“Huh?” Kalim tilted his head. “What do you mean?”
Riddle blushed. “You just seem very functional. It’s admirable.” He glanced over at Floyd with a frown. “Others could learn from your example.”
Others could learn? What was he even talking about? Jamil cast around in his mind to find out what the hell Riddle was talking about…oh shit. He’d told Riddle Kalim had a learning disability…Nope, nope, nope. He was not going to let this conversation keep going.
“Does Goldfishie want big hugs too?” Thank the seven for Floyd and his impeccable ability to misinterpret everything Riddle said. “I can give you one!”
Floyd opened his arms wide and grabbed Riddle in a big hug, with Riddle fighting him every inch of the way.
Jamil decided to leave Floyd to it. Riddle deserved it for nearly ruining everything. “That’s Floyd,” Jamil explained to an amused Kalim. “He’s twins with Jade, and Azul is their childhood friend. They’re the merfolk I mentioned to you.”
“Azul Ashengrotto, a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Azul stepped up, clearly ignoring the fuss Riddle and Floyd were kicking up. He held out his hand, clearly intending to shake. Yeah no. Jamil didn’t know exactly what Azul’s magic was, but he wasn’t going to take any chances.
He grabbed Kalim’s hand before he could reach out to shake Azul’s, and shot Azul a sharp glare, using the momentum to pull Kalim closer under his arm. Azul raised an eyebrow, but Jamil ignored him. “That’s everyone,” he said loudly. “How about your friends?”
He looked over his shoulder, but the others were still walking up. Kalim had run a whole lot further than Jamil had thought. If it weren’t such a problem, he’d be impressed.
He squeezed Kalim’s hand instinctively and froze. The once familiar palms were now cracked and covered in calluses and blisters. What is Hades?
“What happened to your hands?” Jamil asked, automatically pulling Kalim’s hands closer to him as he began to massage them. “This has to hurt.”
“I’m learning sword-fighting!” Kalim replied, then added hastily as Jamil’s grip tightened. “It's all supervised by the Vice-Housewarden. So don’t worry. It’s very safe.”
Jamil clicked his tongue as he moved his massage up to the joints. “Did he not give you any gloves?” Honestly! That was basic safety care! What was wrong with this Vice housewarden?
“He probably just forgot.” Kalim replied, leaning into Jamil as the massaging continued. How irresponsible. Didn’t he know how important Kalim’s appearance was? Now he’d have to soak them in warm soapy water for at least fifteen minutes. Should he use a salt or a sugar scrub? Maybe both. Just in case.
“You shouldn’t be fighting without proper protection. If he makes you do it again without gloves, be sure to make it clear to him the importance of your hands. You’re a sorcerer! You need those!” Matter of fact, maybe he should just tell this guy off himself. Kalim might be a bit embarrassed, but Jamil was certain his father would approve of Jamil taking initiative.
“I don’t think you have much of a leg to stand on,” Jean drawled, “what with you getting into a fight and nearly paralyzing yourself yesterday.”
“Paralizing?” Azul turned his head so fast that Jamil could hear the crack. “I was under the impression he used a snake venom that he was immune to!”
“Jean!” Jamil snapped, but the damage was done. Kalim’s eyes narrowed on Jamil, and he knew he wasn’t getting out of this.
“Speaking of which, I can’t believe you got in a fight!” Kalim frowned. “You always tell me to be careful. You can’t just go and do it instead!”
“He got in a fight?” Riddle asked. Everyone ignored him.
“It was a necessary battle to settle a grudge,” Jamil half-lied, hoping against hope that Kalim would let it go. “It’s settled now, so you don’t have to worry.”
“You fought under the law of claw and fang!” Kalim cried, pulling Jamil closer to him. “You don’t even have those!”
Damn it, one of his NRC friends must have snitched. “I told you, I had it handled.” Jamil shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. Kalim’s face was far too close, and at this distance he could see the eyeliner he’d gotten so much better at applying since Jamil saw him last. It wasn’t perfect, but there was a charm to the slight wavers. It was very Kalim.
“You had to use your ancestor's fang, Jamil,” Kalim looked him directly in his eyes. “You used your kit. You never use that unless we’re in real danger. Don’t pretend like that’s not true. You had to be at least a little scared.”
When had Kalim gotten so observant? Jamil leaned forward, resting his forehead against Kalim’s. “I’m sorry.” he offered, the last card he had to play. “I won’t do it again.”
“You will do it again,” Kalim refuted. “You’ll do it again if you think it’ll keep us safe, like always. Just…” his large garnet eyes found Jamil’s and held him still like his very own Snake’s whisper. “Promise me you’ll tell me before you do, okay?”
“Okay,” Jamil promised. He supposed he had gone a little overboard by using his kit, which was supposed to be for Kalim’s protection, not his own. He supposed he should be grateful it was Kalim he would be reporting to instead of his own father, who would absolutely kill Jamil if he used it for frivolous purposes. Technically, Kalim was even giving him permission to do it again if he felt it necessary. Really, it was the best outcome he could hope for.
“Kinda hypocritical of you, Catlim,” an unfamiliar voice called out. “Given how you also got in a fight with a tiger.” A figure appeared, hovering in mid-air, purple hair framing a creepy grin. “Hey Queenie! Don’t hug without miaw!”
The cat beastman proceeded to glomp onto Floyd and Riddle, to his protests, drowned out by the clomping of feet that told Jamil that the rest of Kalim’s party had reached them, but he couldn’t care less, not when the stranger’s first words were still tossing and turning in his mind. “YOU WHAT?”
Kalim gave him a guilty smile. “It was part of the training! But don’t worry. Kumar was very careful the whole time. So you don’t need to worry…”
Kumar…why did that name sound familiar? No matter. He’d deal with him later. “You couldn’t fight at all a week ago, and now you’re fighting against a tiger? Kalim!”
“I didn’t have a choice!” Kalim pouted. “He said if we couldn’t land a hit or steal something from him, he wouldn’t let me go out to meet you! Plus… I wasn’t really the one who fought him…”
“He made you STEAL?” Jamil shrieked. “WHO is this guy? No.” he shook his head. “No, that's not important. Kalim, if you’re being bullied, you need to tell the faculty, not accept their twisted deal! No other student has the ability to ban you from visiting the town, especially given the circumstances.” He was absolutely certain that The Asim head would throw a fit if someone was getting in between his son and his son’s bodyguard/servant. He was already unhappy with the distance in the first place.
“Actually, as the Vice Housewarden, he kinda does,” a tall brunette said. Jamil shot him a poisonous glare, and the boy raised his hands defensively. “Hey, I didn’t like it either. Don’t shoot the messenger. I helped Kalim be here."
So a vice housewarden was abusing his position to bully Kalim? Jamil couldn’t let that stand. Especially when he would be so far away. “I want to meet this Vice Housewarden.” He smiled at Kalim, “I’m certain we can…work something out.”
“No!” Kalim jumped back, pulling his hands out of Jamil’s grip to wave them around. “It’s fine! Really Jamil! It’s a normal part of training for Shimmeringrough students! All my upperclassmen had to do it. It’s really not what you think! It’s a dorm tradition!”
“RSA is known for its goody-two-shoes demeanour,” Azul piped up, clearly eager to get in on Kalim’s good side. “I doubt they’d allow their Vice Housewardens to bully anyone.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Aun muttered darkly, eyeing the RSA students with clear distrust. The RSA students, in turn, were staring at Jamil’s friends with similar apprehension. So it seemed the dislike between their schools was mutual, lovely.
“Hey! I know you!” A bubbly voice spoke up as the most atrociously dressed person Jamil had ever seen broke ranks from the RSA students to dart towards Azul and the twins. “You’re those twins! And their friend…Azure something! You went to my school!”
Azul winced, but disguised it with a polite bow. “Azul Ashengrotto your highness, a pleasure to meet you once again.”
“Wow!” Rielle, for whom else could it be but the prince of the sea, clapped his hands. “You’ve gotten land manners down pat!”
“No more than any other student of the land training camp.” Azul deflected with a smile.
“Maybe I should have gone,” Rielle hummed to himself. “But it was so boring, and I just couldn’t wait!”
Sevens, what a nightmare. Jamil was getting flashbacks to Kalim’s more foolhardy whims. Ones they’d both learned from the hard way.
“Wait, we didn’t have to go?” Floyd popped his head out of the cuddle hug that was currently still restraining Riddle. “Azul!”
“We had to go,” Jade replied with a similarly stiff smile. “Our beloved prince, of course, had an exception made.”
“An exception?” Riddle wiggled a bit in the hug to get a better view. “Does he have special needs too?”
There was a beat of silence. Followed by a bark of laughter from Floyd. Jamil face-palmed. Damn it, Riddle, why are you like this? Jade was clearly talking about his privilege as a prince!
“Why don’t we do introductions?” he offered in an attempt to change the subject. “Kalim, you’ve met everyone, but your friends haven’t had the pleasure of being introduced yet.”
“Right!” Kalim bounced on the balls of his feet, whole body vibrating as it always did when he was too excited. “Everyone! Meet Jamil! Isn’t he the best!”
Jamil did his best to keep his head up as a bunch of strange eyes turned on him, judging him from the brand-name shoes on his feet to the sleeveless hoodie he’d decided to wear. And by the carefully blank faces, clearly finding him lacking. This always happened. He wished Kalim wouldn’t talk him up to his friends; they always got so disappointed when they realized Jamil was only a servant, and not a peer like Kalim’s words implied.
“So you’re Jamil,” a tiny cat-beastman flicked his snow-white tail as he gave him a once-over. Jamil suddenly felt horribly underdressed. “I’m Marion, and these are my brothers, Hector and Henry.” He flicked his tail at two other cat-beastmen besides him in similar clothing. These must be the triplets Kalim had mentioned.
“A pleasure to make your acquaintance,” he gave a proper half-bow, not too deep, but enough to show respect. “Thank you for all the help you’ve given Kalim. He was truly fortunate to gain a roommate as understanding as you.” He was laying it on a little thick, but it would do the job.
“Who is that and what did he do with Jamil?” He overheard Hamad whisper.
“And he finds my flattery unnerving,” Azul agreed.
Jamil ignored them both. The only one who mattered right now was the cat in front of him, who was clearly softening.
“Oh, it’s nothing, Kalim is a delight to have around.” Marion flicked his ears back, cheeks coloring. Good.
With one of Kalim’s roommates successfully flattered, Jamil turned to the rest of the crowd, searching for signs he could use to recognize the other two. A fox beastman and the brunette from earlier were huddled together, closer than the others. Bingo.
“And you must be Jaime and Liam,” he said, giving them a similar bow and ignoring the muffled yelp from behind him. “Kalim has spoken highly about you.”
“Really?” The brunette looked up in surprise, then caught himself, adjusting his pose to one of careful nonchalance. “I mean, yeah. Thanks. He’s talked about you too.”
“You flatter me,” Jamil smiled in response, his most gentle smile. Two down. He glanced at Liam, but the fox wasn’t looking at him, ears pinned down and eyes razor-focused on Hamad. Odd, did he know him?. Jamil and Hamad’s eyes met over the fox’s head, and Hamad gave a half-shrug. So Hamad didn’t know either. Interesting.
But before he could put any thought into the matter, another boy stepped forward. “So pleased to meet you!” he said, hair as black as night and skin white as snow. “My name is…”
“Holy Shit! Is that Neige LeBlanche?” Aun squawked, then immediately dove behind Hamad as both Jamil and Neige turned their heads to follow his voice, knocking Jean out from behind Hamad to take his place.
Neige opened his mouth to respond, probably some polite greeting for fans, but what he was going to say would never be known. For the exact moment Jean fell out from his hiding place behind Hamad, Liam lunged.
“YOU!”
—----------------------
Kalim POV
Kalim didn’t have time to react before a flash of orange and green zoomed around him.
Instinct took over, and before Jamil could stop him, Kalim grabbed onto Liam’s arm in an iron hold. Jaime and Marion jumped in, Marion grabbing his other arm while Jaime hooked his arms over the back of Liam’s hoodie. But even with the three of them holding him back, they were still struggling. What’d gotten into him? Liam was usually the calmest of them all!
“Dude! Calm down!” Jaime shouted, digging his heels on the ground.
“How are you this strong?!” Marion exclaimed as Liam still managed to lift the arm the cat was hanging from.
Henri and Hector joined in on containing the fox, grabbing onto his legs, and Silver broke ranks from the NRC group to aid them in pushing him back. Kalim watched in awe as Silver's single hand on Liam’s chest stopped him in his tracks. How strong was this guy?
“LET ME AT HIM!” Liam growled, still reaching for the blonde guy who was currently shivering behind Hamad and Aun’s legs.
Well, this wasn’t good. He couldn’t let Jamil think his roommate was some kind of violent maniac! Liam was usually so nice and calm! How was he going to convince Jamil he was just having a bad day?
“You are making a terrible impression!” Marion protested, feet still dangling in the air. “Who even is-” Marion paused for a second, finally looking at who they were currently trying to protect from a very angry and surprisingly violent Liam. “JEAN?!”
“Hel- … Hello, Marion,” The blonde stuttered, still paralysed by fear.
“YOU KNOW HIM?!” Liam snapped, moving his arm, lifting Marion closer to his face.
“We are cousins,” Marion answered. “Could you stop trying to kill him for a second?”
“How many cousins do you have?” Someone- probably Hamad, but Kalim wasn’t paying that much attention- asked.
Liam growled, not seeming too willing to do so… At least he wasn’t completely blinded by anger; he wasn’t hurting them, so he must be holding back. Kalim had seen him during the sparring lessons. If he wanted to free himself, he would have… he still remembered the sting of those fangs…
“Liam,” Kalim called out, trying to sound as calm as possible. “Please, take a deep breath…”
Liam shot him a glare that almost made Kalim reconsider all of his life choices, and he could practically feel Jamil getting into a fighting stance behind him. Ok. No. Not good. Fighting was never good!
“Why is he trying to kill you?!” Aun, who was poking his head around Hamad, asked Jean.
“We… go way back…” Jean fidgetted on the ground, pulling closer to Hamad’s leg. Kalim felt a sliver of hope at that. Maybe there was a chance this was all a misunderstanding?
“HE RUINED MY LIFE!” Liam barked out.
So no chance of a misunderstanding then. Not good. This was going terribly.
“Dude, what did you do?” Hamad cried out as Jean gripped his leg even harder.
“Nothing-” Jean whimpered.
“LIAR!” Liam growled. “TELL THEM WHAT YOU DID!”
“Kalim.” Jamil’s voice was deadly calm as he called his name, and Kalim could see him pulling out his magic pen. “Step back.”
“No!” Kalim protested, holding tighter onto Liam’s arm. “LIAM, SNAP OUT OF IT! PLEASE!”
“WHAT?” Liam whipped his head around to look at Kalim, but some of the fear he was feeling must have shown on his face, because it seemed realisation finally hit Liam. He sagged forward, the fight draining out of him while his pupils went back to normal. He blinked a few times as he took stock of the scene around him. Marion on his arm, Jaime on his back, Silver with his single hand and Hector and Henry hanging off his legs like iron chains. Looking sheepish, he lowered his arms, letting both Kalim and Marion down. “Shit… sorry guys..”
“It’s ok,” Kalim assured him as he let go of his arm, just in time for Jamil to grab him and pull Kalim behind him.
“Never do something like that again!” Jamil scolded him, eyeing Liam with clear distrust. “You could have gotten hurt!”
“Liam wouldn’t hurt us!” Kalim defended his friend. Whatever Jean had done to him, it must have been really bad to prompt this reaction.
“Are you alright?” Silver asked Liam, taking a step back now that the danger had passed.
“I’ll be…” Liam mumbled, shooting another glare at Jean, who yelped and squished himself even further behind Hamad somehow.
Ok, good, Liam was calm, everyone was calming down, time to try and keep it that way… negotiation time!
“Liam, I understand you are upset…” Kalim started. “But he was invited by Jamil, and it’s his party. Maybe we can try maintaining the peace? At least for today?”
Liam took a deep breath and Jaime took the chance to let go of Liam’s Hoodie and actually shift his arms so they wrapped around in a much friendlier way, slowly pulling him back as Hector and Henri let go of his legs. “Damn, Liam! I thought we were going to wait until later to embarrass Kalim!” Jaime laughed.
“Hey!” Kalim protested, but there was no real punch, just a wish to get things back to normal.
“Look.” Jaime smiled at Liam. “Any enemy of yours is an enemy of mine! But let's leave the grudges for another day, okay? Right now we’re here to have a good time! It’s not every day we get to meet Kalim’s Jamil, and from the death glare he’s been shooting you, I don’t think we’re making the best first impression.”
Liam took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair. “Yeah… yeah… I just… need a moment.”
“He’s staying?” Jean squawked. “He tried to kill me! He’s a savage beast!” He looked up at Jamil pleadingly. “You can’t possibly be okay with this!
“Why you little…” Liam growled, but before he could utter a word-
“OFF WITH YOUR HEADS!” Riddle, who had finally been freed from Floyd and Chenya’s arms, screamed as collars appeared around both Liam and Jean’s necks.
“Wha- What did I do!” Jean cried out, tugging at the collar.
“What is this?!” Liam exclaimed, the shock of the collar suddenly appearing on his neck effectively distracting him from his anger.
“That is for causing a scene!“ Riddle answered, crossing his arms. “Attacking another student in the streets? Uttering inflammatory language? The two of you are both a disgrace to your schools!”
“He started it,” Jean grumbled, but a single quelling look from Riddle had him diving back behind Hamad.
“I don’t care who started it, I am putting an end to it.” Riddle declared, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Oh, I like this one.” Kalim heard Marion snicker.
Ignoring Marion, Riddle turned on Liam. “I don’t know your history with Jean, nor his with you, but frankly, it is no excuse to behave so boorishly at a birthday party! Why, if this were Heartslaybul, I would have the two of you on flamingo poop duty until the end of the semester! And if either of you acts up again, I have half a mind to do so anyway!”
“Is he always like this?” Jaime asked Chenya.
“Abs-purr-lutely,” Chenya grinned.
“Too bad they didn’t fight. Goldfishie would have sent them both flying!” Floyd crowed. Kalim was a little surprised. Riddle was so small; was he really so strong? Could he show Kalim some moves?
“So you two are staying like this until I am sure you can get along without ruining Jamil’s birthday day!” Riddle said, finally finishing his rant.
That seemed a bit extreme, but if it helped them calm down…
“So!” Hamad exclaimed, clapping his hands together. “That was… intense…” He cleared his throat. “Well! Back to the introductions!” He extended a hand to Henri. “Hi! I am Hamad! Nice to meet ya!”
Thank the Seven for Hamad, this was why he was Kalim’s favourite out of all of Jamil’s roommates!
Henri blinked a few times before grinning and taking Hamad’s hand on his own. “Henri! Right back at ya! Thank you for keeping cousin Jeannie in one piece.”
Hamad gasped and turned to look at Jean, who was still struggling with the collar. “JEANNIE?!”
Jean groaned and covered his face “Noooo… I was free of that name…”
“You’ll never be free from the family teasing,” Marion responded before extending his hand towards Aun. “Marion, a pleasure to meet you. May I say, your feathers look lovely! What do you use to care for them?”
Aun visibly gulped. “Hi…” Undeterred, Marion took Aun’s hand and gave it a firm shake. Throughout the whole thing, Aun had a dazed expression on his face, like he wasn’t fully there. This only got worse when Henri and Hector pushed forward to shake his hand too, and the poor parrot was left bright red and stuttering. Wow. He must be really shy.
“You’re red! Just like me!” Rielle cried, forgoing the handshakes to give Riddle an enthusiastic hug. “I didn’t know anyone else could have hair like mine! Even Liam’s is more orange than red!”
“No it isn’t!” Floyd scowled, crossing his arms. “Anglerfish is red to hide in the depths. Goldfishie is red to draw in challengers. It’s not similar at all!”
Riddle went stiff. “My hair is a perfectly normal color on the surface world…your highness,” he added at the end as an afterthought.
“Oh! No need for that! We're friends now!” Rielle laughed. “Just call me Rielle!”
Floyd bristled when Rielle gave Riddle another squeeze. Azul placed a warning hand on his shoulder. “Behave.”
The other twin, Jade, seemed to be doing far better, having engaged Neige in a surprisingly indepth debate over mushroom varieties, while Chenya was darting around, fascinated by Sahalia perched on LIlia’s shoulder.
Ok! This was already better!
Kalim let out a sigh of relief and leaned against Jamil’s side “See? Everything is going to be all right…”
Jamil looked down at Kalim and took a deep breath “I hope you are right… So, what’s first in the schedule?”
Kalim lit up and gave Jamil one of his brightest smiles. “The art store!”
-----------------
JAMIL POV
The art store was not at all what Jamil had expected. Far from the sterile stores and white halls he was used to in department stores, it was instead a charmingly squashed building awash in primary colors. Inside the rows of products were mazelike in their design, objects squashed side by side with decorative pieces showcasing exactly what the product did.
At the centre was a long table covered in crafting materials, paint splatters, and little flicks of dried clay.
“Welcome to the Art Barn!” A woman with a messy brown bun beamed at them as she hurried to finish wiping the table clean. “I was just finishing up for your appointment!”
“Thank you,” Kalim smiled at the woman, his charm as effective as ever. “Can we use what’s on the shelves, or is it only a specific section?”
“Oh you can use anything you like!” The woman giggled. “Most of my customers are students like you who can’t really afford to keep their own tools in those cramped dorm rooms. But we can’t have that. Why even a Gorilla has a right to make art! Why should kids be exempt?”
A surprisingly generous business model. It left Jamil wondering how the place stayed afloat. Surely there couldn’t be that many students willing to shell out for a place to practice art. Maybe it was some kind of front? It would be like Kalim to accidentally pick some kind of mafia hideout for his birthday party. He looked around to see if he spotted anything suspicious, but all that stood out was the unusually large amount of Gorilla themed paintings.
“Beautiful isn’t it?” The woman said, noticing Jamil’s eye lingering on a particularly large one of a female gorilla. “That’s my mother-in-law.”
Jamil choked. “Excuse me?”
“My mother-in-law,” the woman smiled, completely unbothered by what she’d just said. “She’s a lovely gorilla. Raised my dear husband Zantar up right. And makes a mean fruit salad.”
She was messing with him right? She had to be messing with him. “She sounds lovely,” he offered instead as he tried to make eye contact with Kalim to signal, ‘we need to leave now!’
“Thank’s again Mrs. Porter,” Kalim said instead, giving her a proper bow.
“Oh you flatterer!” Mrs. Porter giggled. “Do give my husband my best if you see him before I do.”
“Is he a gorilla too?” Aun asked.
“He’s our Animal speech professor,” Rielle explained. “He was raised by Gorillas! Could you imagine! I wish I was raised by Gorillas!”
Oh. So she wasn’t crazy. Her husband being a member of RSA staff also explained how she was able to keep her business afloat. They paid far better than NRC.
“But pardon my asking, but weren’t there more of you? I was so looking forward to saying hello to dear Jungli.” Mrs. Porter sighed.
“He’s on his way,” Neige explained. “He and Alex should be joining us any minute now.”
Oh. So Kalim had even more guests to introduce him too. He’d thought the group looked a little small for one of Kalim’s parties. Still, it didn’t seem like this place couldn’t accommodate them. If anything, it seemed like it could have handled an even larger group.
Not bad. It seems like he didn’t need to worry afterall.
“Alright everyone listen up!” Kalim clapped his hands as everyone settled onto the benches. “If you didn’t already know, this art barn lets you use the supplies on the walls to make anything you like! So I figured that since today was Jamil’s birthday, why don’t we make him presents!”
Oh seven. Jamil froze as all eyes turned to him, assessing. He didn’t know half these people, and now they were going to be making him presents? How was that a good idea?
“Oh that’s not necessary," he started, searching for something, anything to dissuade Kalim.
“That’s a great idea!” Aun chirped up. “I was worried since I didn’t have a chance to buy a present.”
“I don’t need any presents,” Jamil protested. “Really, it’s fine.”
“Dude!” Hamad poked him. “Get off your high horse and think of the implications! NRC has never won any competitions against RSA. This could be our big shot!”
Jamil blinked. “What?”
“I wouldn’t be so quick to claim victory,” Neige of all people smiled beautifully across the table from where he had picked up an embroidery hoop. “I happen to have quite the skill in needlework.”
“There’s no need…” Jamil began, but no one was listening.
“Oh!” Rielle clapped his hands. “Is it a game now? I love games!”
“NRC vs RSA, how exciting!” Lilia beamed. “Now if only there were cooking supplies, I'm sure I’d have won…” Beside him, Silver choked.
“We don’t use food in here,” Mrs. Porter shook her head. “Its to dangerous with some of the paints. Can’t risk someone getting sick.”
“A pity,” Lilia sighed as Silver looked incredibly relieved.
“We accept the challenge,” one of the triplets, was it Henri? The orange one, grinned. “But be warned, I’m a master painter.”
“Sounds like fun!” Floyd beamed. “I love a challenge!”
“Azul is particularly skilled with Ink,” Jade added with his signature creepy smile.
Jamil looked at Riddle, his last hope for some sense, but Riddle only looked thoughtful.
“I’ve mastered many spells, I wonder if any of them would translate to art?” He murmured.
Great. There goes Jamil’s last hope. It looks like they’re doing this.
“I don’t think this is a good idea.” Jamil cut in over the excited chatter. “I’m just going to pick Kalim’s. There’d be no point.”
“Really?” Kalim gave him a quick hug. “Jamil!”
“We’ll need a way to prevent Jamil from knowing who’s making what.” Azul mused. “Perhaps a cloud of ink?”
“No way!” Kalim pulled Jamil closer. “The point is for Jamil to enjoy this! It’s not fun for him if he’s blinded!”
How nice to have his support. Or it would be, if he didn’t get him in this situation. He thought as he automatically patted Kalim on the back.
“Ahem,” A delicate cough caught his attention. “There’s no need to go to any extremes,” Mrs. Porter said, gesturing to some old fashioned poster boards, the type that opened like a book to reveal two smaller sides and one big one. “You can just use these.”
“That’s perfect!” Kalim cried, and Jamil felt the little sigh of relief through him. “That way we can see each other but no one can see what we’re working on!”
“You aren't going to show me?” Jamil asked, but Kalim just grinned at him.
“That would be cheating! I’m winning this fair and square!”
Jamil resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Of course they should cheat! How was he supposed to know which one was Kalim’s if he didn’t? He wasn’t a mind reader! Sevens what if he ended up picking Jean’s or worse, Azul’s? Jamil would have to crawl into a hole and just die.
Yes, there was no way he was going to leave this to chance. He had a reputation to keep! No one knew Kalim better than he did! And it was what a boyfriend would do. Probably.
Jamil kept a sharp eye on what tools Kalim picked to use. It seemed to be considering the pastels and paints. Did he even know how to use pastels? At least it would make it easier to find it.
“Ja-nya-l.” A face popped in front of his own, upside down. Jamil is not proud of the squeak his mouth made when he jumped back. “How do you feel about tea time?”
“I uh…” Jamil struggled to collect himself. “It’s nice?” He straightened his shoulders. “I mean, the varieties back home are numerous and delicious.” He tried to move his head discreetly to see Kalim again.
“Sounds Cat-tastic!” The head - Che-nya? Something like that - “But what if it were a rainbow?”
“Huh?” As far as Jamil was aware, there weren’t any teas with multiple colors. Sure some of the more expensive stuff might have fancy colors, but never at the same time.
“Or maybe just red and yellow,” Che-nya continued, keeping his whole body in front of Jamil’s line of sight, if upside down. “You strike me as a red and yellow guy. Or perhaps…Garent and Gold?”
Ok this was getting ridiculous. "Shouldn't you be on the ground? Floating seems like cheating to me.” He pointed out with far more bite than he would usually use to one of Kalim’s ‘friends.’
“Oh I’m not playing. I’m just making sure the game isn’t over before it begins!” The cat beastman laughed. “Cat-lim wouldn’t like that!”
“It’s my birthday,” Jamil huffed to himself. “Shouldn’t I get a say?”
“It is your birthday,” Che-nya agreed, “So stop puffing up like a hissing kitty. No one’s gonna step on your paws.”
So saying, he proceeded to float away. Weird. Jamil looked over at Kalim, but instead of standing in front of the supplies, he’d moved to his own little space behind his poster. He gave Jamil a smile when he noticed his eyes on him, before returning to whatever he was working on with great concentration.
Jamil turned back to the supplies, hopeful that he’d at least know which one he’d chosen from what remained, but to his dismay, both were missing. He didn't even know if Kalim chose a different medium after Che-nya started talking, that sly Cat!
With nothing else to do, Jamil sat down and grabbed a pencil and began to sketch. He wasn’t good by any means, he’d never had a chance to practice, but once Kalim had gone through an artistic phase and Jamil had quite enjoyed it, especially since it was one of the few things he was allowed to be better than kalim at provided his drawings were all centered on Kalim. Claiming it was because of his master’s “natural beauty shining through the page” had been a particular delight as he’d watched his mother’s face, unable to disagree in front of Kalim’s esteemed mother and the boy himself.
She’d given him an earful about how “risky” it was later, but that drawing was still hanging up in Kalim’s mother’s room, misattributed to Kalim of course, but there nonetheless.
Sketch finished, he switched to some of the higher end markers that were still left on the table. Coloring in was a bit more nervewracking, since he couldn’t erase, but he managed. At least they had the right shade of garnet red.
“Whatcha working on?” Floyd leaned over his shoulder. Jamil jumped.
“None of your business,” he snapped as he instinctively threw his arms over the drawing. “Aren’t you supposed to be focused on your own project?”
“Nah,” Floyd waved a hand dismissively. “I finished that ages ago. So?” He reached around Jamil to pull the sheet of paper out from under him. Jamil knocked his hand back, but in doing so he’d had to move his arm, exposing the picture to Floyd’s line of sight.
Floyd blinked, and for the first time he’d known him, a look of actual confusion crossed his face. “Why are you drawing an otter?”
“Otter?” Jamil sputtered. “It’s Kalim!”
“No it isn’t.” Floyd shook his head. “He doesn’t have a tail.”
Tail? Jamil looked back over his drawing, trying to figure out whatever could have given that impression. “That’s the back of his cloak!”
“Looks like an otter’s tail to me,” Floyd squinted at the picture. “What do you think, Jade?”
“It’s certainly oddly colored for an otter,” Jade said as he too peered over Jamil’s shoulder. “But the paws certainly give that impression. Perhaps it’s artistic license?"
“If you want Artistic talent, we could make a deal,” Azul offered.
“Shut up!” Jamil hissed, clutching the drawing closer. “It’s just a drawing! It doesn’t have to be good!”
“Art is about the experience as much as it is the final product,” Henri agreed, now covered head to toe in paint stains.
“Yeah!” Aun piped up. “So what if it looks like a squashed lump? It’s the heart in it that matters!”
“Aun,” Jamil growled. “You aren’t helping.”
Aun looked suitably chastised, but before Jamil could claim any kind of victory, he found his picture missing from his arms.
“Well it’s certainly vibrant,” Liam said, the tilt of his smile just a tad too sharp for it to be a complement. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jean, who had been oddly quiet all day, duck closer to Riddle. He couldn’t blame him given their rather charged reunion. But Liam was Kalim’s friend, so what could Jamil do?
Although, he thought as he watched the fox-boy turn the drawing this way and that, squinting, he wished the boy had stayed off sulking wherever he’d gone when he’d left. The last thing Jamil needed was another complication right now. And foxes with chips on their shoulders and no clear direction for where to direct their anger at are the definition of complicated.
“That is mine.” He held out a hand to the fox, voice clipped. “Please return it. Now.”
“It’s just a drawing,” Liam replied, a slight bite in his voice. “Everyone else was looking, why can’t I?”
“I haven’t seen it.” Kalim’s voice was calm, but it echoed through the room with the authority of a sultan. Liam’s ears pressed down to his skull, likely expecting reprimand, but Kalim completely ignored him in favor of Jamil, turning pleading garnet eyes on him. “Jamil, can I?”
“It’s just a stupid drawing,” Jamil felt heat crawl up his cheeks. “Do what you want.”
“Yay!” Kalim cried, eagerly snatching the picture directly from Liam’s hands, oblivious to the fox beastman’s cry of surprise. Leave it to Kalim to cut the tension. He gasped when he saw the picture, eyes shining. “It’s beautiful!”
“Methinks Sea Otter’s a bit blind,” Floyd whispered loudly to Jade. In the half a second it took Jamil to work out that ‘Sea otter’ meant ‘Kalim,’ he heard Jade whisper back:
“They say love makes you blind.”
Jamil’s ears, if possible, got hotter. Which was stupid. This was exactly what he wanted. If even the ever aloof Jade thought they were a couple, Jamil must be doing a good job. What did he have to be embarrassed about?
Ever oblivious, Kalim continued to brag about how much he loved Jamil’s drawing, extolling his choice in colors, the cute chibi style, and even the choice to draw him in an outfit Kalim actually owned. By the time he was done, several people were looking at the picture in a new light, including Silver and most of the RSA students.
“I guess the thought really is what counts,” Aun muttered to Hamad. “Sevens, I hate being single.”
“And done!” Hamad crowed. Standing up from his station and holding up his clay covered hands in triumph. “Huh? What?” he said when he found everyone staring at him. “Are we doing this competition or not?”
Hamad’s question was like a grenade going off, as suddenly the happy, cohesive atmosphere shifted into one of icy rivalry. NRC and RSA students began to drift apart from each other, eyeing one another with clear distrust. Even Kalim seemed to sense the change, looking up from Jamil’s drawing with a frown.
Jamil was about to approach him, maybe to put an arm around him like a possessive boyfriend should, just in case any of his classmates got any ideas. But before he could, both Hamad and Aun flanked him, each grabbing an arm.
“Can’t have you here,” Hamad grinned. “Judge’s have to wait outside!”
“We’ll get you in a minute!” Aun agreed. “And don’t even think of peaking!”
So saying the two bodily threw Jamil out of the door, and out onto the street once more. “Hey!” Jamil spun on his heel, grabbing onto the handle to try and force it open, but it was too late, it would not turn. “Open this door!”
Idiots! Now Kalim was trapped inside with a bunch of shady figures and a whole room of sharp objects. He was supposed to be watching him. It was his whole job! His whole life! Being his fake boyfriend wasn’t supposed to change that. How was he supposed to do anything from outside?
He called out a few times over the pounding of his fists, but no luck. Exhausted, he slumped against the frame, resting his head against the rough wood.
“Is…it closed?” A voice behind him asked. He whirled around, fists raised, only to see two boys holding an absolute mountain of boxed lunches. “Woah!” The boy who’d first spoken said, taking a step back. “Cool it! I was just asking!”
“Yeah! No hurt Alex!” The boy behind him added, stepping in front of his friend, a scowl on his face. “Alex no wrong!”
“Oh,” Jamil lowered his arms. “Sorry, you startled me…Alex and Jungli I presume?”
The boy in blue, who he assumed was Alex, narrowed his eyes. “Who’s asking?”
“Oh I’m terribly sorry, I forgot myself.” Jamil did his best to give off the air of polite embarrassment. “My name is Jamil Viper,” he said, giving an elegant bow. “Kalim has spoken highly of you both.”
“Alex,” so he was right, the boy in blue was Alex, said with a curtsy of his own, made all the more impressive given how he was still balancing the absurd number of boxes. “And this is Jungli.”
Jungli gave a hop of his own, which was strange - did he think they were just moving randomly? - But Jamil decided to ignore it. He had a first impression to salvage.
“Do you need help?” he offered instead, holding his hands out to reach for the packages
Alex was balancing, but the boy shook his head, the top package swaying dangerously as he did so.
“Absolutely not! It’s your birthday,” he said. “I’m not making you a pack mule on your birthday! If it was an unbirthday, then that’d be another story, but it is not, so there’s that.”
“Alex not need help!” Jungli added, a note of pride in his voice. “Jungli help!”
“And what wonderful help you are little wolf pup!” A gratingly familiar voice said as Che’nya materialized once again out of thin air. At least he wasn’t the only one put off by the purple catbeastman’s abrupt appearance, if the way Alex stiffened was anything to go by.
“Although, you do seem much more burdened than I last saw you,” Che’nya added with a frown at the boxes stacked on top of them. “What happened to the baskets?”
“Matt tried to adjust it for food conservation, and accidently overloaded the spell,” Alex grumbled. “So now we have living baskets and we had to scramble to find more.”
“What a cat-tastrophie.” Che’nya clicked his tongue. “If only you had a tail.” He flicked his own to make his point, but made no effort to reach out to any of the boxes.
“Are you going to let me back in?” Jamil snapped, quite done with his antics. “Surely it doesn’t take that long to set up the contest.”
“Contest? I thought this was an art barn.” Alex frowned.
“Yes!” Che’nya’s grin grew too large for his face. “Come in, come in! We dearly need some unbiased judges, and our dear Ja-nya-l has already admitted to prizing his beau over all the rest…”
So saying the three of them were ushered back into the art barn. In the few minutes they’d been outside, all the dividers had been removed, along with all the tools. The crafts were all organized in a line, and he could already tell with a glance that their order had been messed with. No chance for him to cheat by using his memory of the seating arrangements. Too bad, he’d have to rely on his intuition.
He glanced at Kalim, who was beaming at him from the group of “contestants.” Jamil studied him a bit longer, just to double check for any clues. Kalim hid his hand behind his back and winked at him. So he clearly wasn’t going to be any help.
“Purr-senting our esteemed judges!” Che’nya announced with his signature grin.
“Alex! Jungli! You made it!” Kalim cried out in delight. “And you brought the food!”
“Jungli darling!” Mrs. Porter echoed, running forward to pull him into a one armed hug while simultaneously transferring all his boxes to her other arm. Jamil had to admit he was impressed at her dexterity. “I’ve missed you! How is your mother? How is her new litter?”
“She good,” Jungli smiled at her as he promptly stole half of Alex’s boxes. “Her pups strong!”
“Wonderful!” Mrs. Porter cooed. Jamil blinked. Litter? Pups? Was Jungli like her husband and raised by animals? Where did Kalim find this guy?
“Are these what we’re supposed to judge?” Alex asked, looking down at the different crafts, from a chalk painting to an intricate bit of embroidery of a cat and a fox fighting a tiger.
“Yes! They’ll be judged on three categories! Skill! Representation of Jamil! And all around awesomeness!” Hamad piped up, swinging back and forth. “We need you guys cause we all know Jamil’s definitely biased.”
“I wouldn’t say I’m biased…” Jamil muttered, but was cut off.
“You were literally just looking for clues on Kalim’s,” Hamad rolled his eyes. “Don’t even try with me today.”
Jamil pouted. Wasn’t this a part of being a good boyfriend? But fine. If they weren’t going to help him, he’d just have to find Kalim’s by himself. And see if he couldn't push the other two judges to agree, just to show off how terribly unbiased he was.
That wouldn’t be terribly difficult. He’d had to do it many a time before as a child.
With that in mind, he stepped forward to examine the offerings before him. He had to admit, some of them were rather well done. Neige’s embroidery was magnificently done, especially in so little time, if quite small, but it was also clearly his, since he was the only one who stated he’d be using thread. There was also an impressive clay statue of the staff of the sorcerer of the sands, complete with little glass ‘gems’ to be the ruby eyes. Its maker was a little more ambiguous, he hadn’t exactly told anyone how much he looked up to the sorcerer, but the skill of its creation gave away that it wasn’t Kalim’s. Probably just a coincidence then.
He turned towards the section of drawings and paintings, remembering Kalim’s fixed attention on the paints and pastels. Which one could it be? Clearly not the crudely drawn basketball, that was likely from Floyd. Similarly, the ink sketch of Pakora, while touching, was clearly made by someone still adjusting to ink that didn’t float away when not applied thickly. Azul then. There was a diagram of some kind of flying contraption, far too detailed to be Kalim’s, and a sketch of an incredibly overly complicated outfit that nonetheless matched none of Kalim’s preferred styles, and even a string of musical notes written out that Jamil couldn’t read and was fairly certain Kalim couldn’t either.
That left three. One incredibly abstract piece of what Jamil was hoping wasn’t meant to be his own head, a bright, chaotic finger painting of what might have been a castle, and one rather nice, if childish, pastel of a snake and a parrot.
It was on the pastel of the parrot and snake that Jamil lingered the most. It certainly fit about the level of skill he’d expect from Kalim, and it even had two of his favorite animals hanging out in it! But something just felt off. Maybe it was the colors, or the brush strokes, but it just didn’t feel like Kalim’s.
But it was the only painting left. So it had to be. Right? Jamil looked back over at the rest of the crafts he’d overlooked. A far too realistic depiction of a mushroom, an origami rose painted white and red, a teacup that was cut in half and still somehow holding water, a dopey-looking lion statue and an even dopey-er looking fox, (where Jean and Liam even trying?) A big Sahalia half carved out of wood and a bracelet of animal bones, and…
A little plate of curry.
Jamil blinked as the illusion shifted. It wasn’t actually curry, but a clay plate with curry painted on. Childishly done, with the meat and vegetables almost cartoonish as they stuck out of the brown blob that was supposed to be the curry. But clear in what it represented.
As if in a trance, he picked it up, holding the little, not quite round dish in his hands reverently. “You made me curry,” he said, looking directly at Kalim.
Kalim blushed. “I know it’s your favorite, but since I can’t be around it, I knew you wouldn’t have any, so I did the best I could… for now.”
Something powerful reached into Jamil’s heart and squeezed. “Thank you, Kalim,” he murmured, watching in awe as those garnet eyes crinkled up in delight. “I’ll treasure it.”
“Oh sure, we make him curry for breakfast and he tells us it needs more salt, but Kalim paints it on a plate and suddenly it's a gift straight from The Seven.” Hamad’s quiet grumbling snapped Jamil out of his trance.
“Hush you,” Aun elbowed him in the side. “I think it’s sweet.”
“Why can’t Kalim be around curry?” Silver wondered. “Is it an allergin fa- I mean - Lilia?”
“Who knows? Humans are fragile creatures.” The old fae shrugged with a mysterious smile.
“It seems we have our winner,” Neige laughed. “A shame, I thought my needlework was on point today…”
“It’s not over until the other judges give their verdict,” Riddle huffed. “So keep your mouth shut lest you give away your creation.”
At his words, Alex and Jungli shuffled closer to the table to look over the crafts. They seemed to have very different opinions; Jungli’s favorite being the mushroom until he realized he couldn’t eat it, and then migrating to the fang bracelet, while Alex favored the origami rose’s elegant simplicity. But they eventually agreed on the drawing of the parrot and the snake sitting together.
“New Friends!” Jungli proclaimed, holding it up above his head. “Good Picture!”
“Indeed. It certainly showcases the main message of the day.” Alex laughed in agreement.
“Seriously?” Hamad groaned as he reached for the sculpture of the sorcerer’s staff. “I put all this work into a perfect replica, and Aun still beats me? This is second grade all over again!”
“You made this?” Henri said, looking over the drawing with an appreciative air, “It’s really well done. You’ve got an artist’s eye.”
Aun turned bright red and sputtered like a fish. So much for hating the enemy.
“Hey, you still in there?” Hamad gave his cousin a good-natured poke in the ribs. “Don’t go freezing up now, not when you have the perfect opportunity to rub your victory in my face.”
“I-I-I,” Aun sputtered at Hamad. “I don’t need to prove anything to you!” He then turned his back to him, which unfortunately put him directly in Henri and now Hector’s smiling faces. “I-I mean…thanks. To you. You’re a good artist too.” He said, face now flaming red as he looked at the ground.
“I’d hope so, since I’ve been taking lessons since I was a little kid,” Henri laughed. “What about you? Have you also been taught?”
“No,” Aun shook his head. “We didn’t really have time for that, moving around the desert. And even when we weren’t following the sheep, it wasn’t like we had much money to spare.” As soon as the words tumbled out of his mouth, Aun tensed, no doubt realizing he’d admitted to being poor to what was clearly an aristocrat.
“So it is raw talent? Impressive” Henri grinned, checking Aun’s painting once more. “A diamond in the rough.”
“I understand that,” Neige stepped in, soothing the whole situation over with the practiced ease of someone who had to do it far too often. “I also never got the chance to practice art formally. I had to make due with what I could figure out on my own.” He gave a slightly self-deprecating smile. “There was always a need for sewing with my brothers and I.”
“Aun can knit too!” Hamad sing-songed, slinging a casual elbow on Neige’s shoulder. “I’ll bet if you teamed up you’d make something really beautiful.”
“Hamad!” Aun shrieked, waving his arms in the air. “Don’t bother the superstar!”
“I don’t mind,” Neige smiled. “It's nice to be treated as a normal boy. Just think of me as another student.”
“It’s nice to see everyone get along,” Kalim sighed with contentment from his place at Jamil’s side.
“I don’t know,” Jamil demurred, watching Aun’s sputtering floundering as he tried to have a “normal” conversation with three RSA students. “I think if anyone else is nice to Aun, he might just faint.”
Kalim giggled, and Jamil leaned towards the sound like a plant to sunlight. He’d missed that sound. Ordinarily he’d never admit to it, or bury it beneath the many frustrations of working for Kalim. But they hadn’t seen each other in so long…and Kalim had made him curry. Couldn’t he indulge just this once?
“Jamil,” Jean hissed in his ear, breaking him out of this trance. “Are you seeing this?”
Jamil closed his eyes as he held back a sigh. “What is it, Jean?”
“This!” Jean hissed, waving a hand towards Neige and Aun. “The Neige LeBlanche is hitting on our Aun!”
“Jealous Jean?” Liam cooed. “That some nobody has more game than you?” How he’d heard Jean whisper from across the room would have been impressive in any other situation, if it hadn’t plummeted the temperature in the room. The RSA and NRC students, who’d once been happily socializing, all froze as if they’d done something wrong, shifting away from their new friends and towards comfortable familiarity.
“That is not what I said.” Jean growled, baring his teeth like he had any fangs to show off. But he didn’t, so it honestly looked kinda silly.
Liam bared his teeth back, revealing sharp fangs, and Jean gave a yelp as he dove behind Riddle. Riddle raised his pen. Jamil reached for his own. Would he have to interfere?
“Hey,” Kalim stepped forward, arms raised. “Let’s calm down. I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to feel a bit hangry. Why don’t we go out and have that picnic?”
“Yes!” Alex cheered. “I did not carry that much food for you all to ignore it!”
The rest of the group agreed with a variety of acknowledgments. In short order, the gifts were packed away, the food removed from Mrs. Porter’s care and the woman herself bid farewell, all under Kalim’s watchful eye and gentle prodding. Jamil blinked in surprise. Since when had Kalim gotten so good at redirection?
Perhaps he’d always been, and Jamil just hadn’t noticed. Avoiding the pitfalls of the snake pit that made up the Asim’s palace took quite a bit of skill. For all his master had always been oblivious, he was remarkably adept at avoiding danger. As best he could, that is. They’d both had to be. It was the only reason they’d survived so long.
He shook his head. What other skills did Kalim have that he’d not noticed, too focused on his own problems to acknowledge? Or were these new, and all he’d needed to grow had been time away from the Asim’s cutthroat way of life?
He gave Kalim’s hand a squeeze, and the other boy looked up at him, garnet eyes questioning. “Is something wrong?” he asked.
“No,” Jamil smiled. “Nothing at all. You’ve just grown, is all.”
“Oh!” Kalim blushed a bright red. “I guess. I mean…” Kalim froze, eyes widening as it connected with something, or someone, behind Jamil. It wasn’t much, but Jamil knew what Kalim’s fear looked like. Had lived his whole life intimately familiar with the slight wavering of the iris, the narrowing of the pupil.
He shoved Kalim behind him, wand already raised and pointed at the three girls standing in the shadow of the alley way. He’d been so stupid. A day on the town with Kalim? What was he thinking? Of course there’d be consequences. Of course there’d be an assassin. When wasn’t there? He couldn’t have a break, not now, and not for as long as he lived by Kalim’s side. Neither of them could. He shouldn’t have let his guard down, he should have expected this.
He raised his magic pen, a spell on the tip of his tongue, only for a voice to ring out, stopping him in his tracks.
“Alija?” Hamad cried out. “What are you doing here?”