A storm blew following class that day, pelting the windows of Stonehall Academy with its iced droplets. The hour was nearing two in the morning and though most students and faculty had already found their way to bed, Tilo and Nemo crept around the halls, searching for a suitable place to speak. Even at this time of night, the storm had still not let up.

Every few minutes, the halls were illuminated by a strike of lightning, the thunder accompanying it rumbling so deeply the walls seemed to vibrate. 

It was atmospheric, to say the very least.

Tilo pulled Nemo towards a door as tall as their combined height, yanking it open. Both tensed as it wailed open, the sound echoing about loudly in the empty halls. Nemo entered first, wielding a lamp that did little to assist their sight. Despite the dark night, the room’s floor to ceiling stained glass windows permitted enough light for Nemo to make out what was before him. He scanned the room, searching for a place to sit.

At this hour, the academy’s largest dining hall was void of people, the main lamps turned off for the night. Tilo made himself comfortable, finding a table near a window and sitting down, back turned away from the glass. Nemo sat down across, setting the lamp atop the table surface. Sharp shadows created by the light danced across their faces.

Provided a few hours to think it over, Nemo had decided to let the pickpocket incident go. It was just a misunderstanding, after all, and technically it was being handled. Instead, he fell back on a question he had greater interest in. 

“You went here before, right? Expelled, as Professor Krylin had said.”

“What happened to talking about pickpocketing?”

“I changed my mind.”

Tilo shrugged. 

“Alright. I was expelled on purpose. I wasn’t expelled because of my grades, though I should have been. I challenged the school’s authority and they felt I was an unruly student, so I was ‘let go,’ as they put it.”

“Just for that?”

Tilo pushed away from the table, distancing himself from Nemo. “It was a bit more than that. Think more along the lines of asking for a duel with every teacher. I won far more than I lost, so I made a lot of them look foolish.”

“Combat division, right? Are there multiple divisions? I would have assumed that you would be in a more… research based division, if that’s how that works. How-”

“Hey, I’m giving a bit of myself away for nothing in return at the moment. It can’t all be questions from you,” Tilo teased.

“Okay, if we’re doing give and take about us, I might as well mention that I’m pretty proud of my visual acuity. Everyone at home tells me I’m too observant for my own good, except of course when I actually need to be.”

“Of course, only when you need to be. Well then, what have you noticed?”

“Tilo, I just said it doesn’t work that way. It’s mostly just inadvertently taking notice of what most people don’t. A leaf where there are no plants, a feeling that shouldn’t exist, that sort of thing.”

“Ah, I see.”

“So, regarding the combat division -”

“I won’t talk about any of the divisions, there are so many - but they only exist as a means of determining what path you follow. It tells you the classes you ought to take, for the most part. I was accepted into this academy because of my capabilities in combat magic, thus I was put in the combat division. In the end, I was only able to retain my place here because I was as skilled as I was. They didn’t care about my interests, they just wanted my skills. So I wanted to leave.”

Tilo smiled sadly. “It’s different now. Professor Krylin figured out what was happening and was able to put a stop to it, but she was a bit too late for me.”

“Then, all your grades, were they because you wanted to be expelled?”

“At first, no. I was doing well the first year, then the second year came along and I couldn’t keep up. By third the year, I was slowly becoming aware of what was happening, so my grades began to decline further as I debated leaving. Final year I didn’t take any notes, which, given my inability to remember a lot of the information, caused a massive dip in my grades. 

The issue was that I still wanted to learn, but I didn’t want to stay in the academy any more. Unfortunately, that was the year I had Professor Krylin, so she knew little about me except that I didn’t take notes. That is, until we had a proper conversation. I’m certain I was on her radar earlier, but our interaction was limited before my final year.” 

“That’s… understandable. But you still came back?”

“Being here doesn’t exactly drag up bad memories. It just… forces me to acknowledge them.”

“Alright, my turn. I don’t have secrets, there’s that. For me, there’s not a single secret worth having, because when I have had them, they’ve been nothing but trouble. Keeping them for others, however, that’s another story.”

Nemo stared into the lamp flame, watching it dance around the glass confines. 

“I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m an open book,” he continued. “Someone can ask me anything about me and I’ll tell them. What I won't do is speak for others. Their secrets aren’t mine to share.”

  “Trust you. I suppose that’s what you’re saying? You know I already do that.”

“It just means that I will only ever have your best interests in mind. I have seven siblings - you’ve met most of them, but there’s a few that I’ve never mentioned. I’m the third eldest, but since my older sister is learning the family trade and my older brother works away from home, I’ve been allocated the title of ‘oldest brother.’ I’ve adopted the values that go along with the role, though not of my own volition.”

“Must be nice, having such a large family.”

Nemo chuckled. “Yeah. What about your family?”

“My ‘at home’ family isn’t particularly large and I’m not that close to my extended family. That aside, my family at home is especially close. I grew up under the care of my father and grandparents, as well as my uncle. For the most part, it was just my father and my grandparents. My uncle never had a lot of time to visit when I was little, so we only became close when I was a bit older. I haven’t visited any of them recently, though. I think I need to make plans.”

For a moment, they sat in silence, neither knowing what to say next.

Nemo opened his mouth to speak, catching himself before saying something he’d come to regret. What did escape him, however, wasn’t much different than what he’d originally planned to say.

“That electrifying feeling from this morning, when you walked towards that student.”

Nemo paused, allowing a crack of thunder to ring without drowning out his voice. The accompanying lightning lit the room with a bright flare, illuminating Tilo from behind before cutting swiftly back to darkness.

  What was it?” Nemo continued, unperturbed.

Tilo didn’t speak. He knew he wouldn’t be able to lie, but the truth wasn’t something he could bring himself to explain. All he could do was wait for Nemo to bombard him with enough questions that he couldn’t evade them any longer.

“Alright, just curious,” Nemo responded. 

It wasn’t the response Tilo had expected.

Nemo lifted the lamp, standing up from his bench seat. He had a feeling that their conversation would slowly develop into an interrogation if he said anything more. They needed to stop. “It’s late and we have an early morning tomorrow. Why don’t we head back,” he suggested.

“Yes. Yes. Let’s go.” Tilo agreed without hesitation.

And so they went, Tilo ahead, Nemo three steps behind, out of the dining room and straight to bed. The door thundered shut as they departed, only shadows left in their wake.