“Hati,” Teophania called from further down the trail. “Focus on the tour, not the trees.”

“But Tiff,” Hati complained. “Look at the moss on that-”

“Hati.”

“...Sorry.” Hati caved to his friend, and came back to the group, head hung.

“You’re forgiven,” Teophania said. “Provided you do your best to focus on the tour, not the wildlife.” 

“Yes, ma’am.” Hati gumbled bitterly. 

“Good.” Teophania hummed, turning to continue walking. “We’ll have plenty of time to see the wildlife here, Hati. There’s no need to rush.”

“True...” Hati agreed, his ear twitching when he heard something out of place. He turned to look at Milo and Sirena, who were leading their tour, just in time to see Milo swing his head back in the direction. Hati tilted his head a little. What was that about?

“Right!” Milo announced cheerfully as the forest opened up again to reveal the main building of the campus. It was a large, opulent stone building that, if Hati didn’t know better, would be easily mistaken for a castle. “About the Arcan Institute Of Collegiate Academia's campus, it's the castle of my father's childhood, which he adapted into a campus after the current one was built, so the children of nobles could have a collective education without worrying about being harmed. The project was used to save on security measures that would have had to be installed if a new campus was crafted from scratch. All of the security measures from when this was a functioning castle are still in place, meaning this is probably one of the safest places you could possibly be in in Arca,” Milo looked back at them to smile assuringly. “Aside from the current castle, of course.”

“Wow…” Atlas murmured, staring up at the structure before he looked curiously at Milo. “Do you guys still pour boiling water on intruders?”

Carmen smacked Atlas upside the head at only a fraction of the force she normally did. “Atlas!” She scolded, horrified. “Not the time to ask that!”

“Then when is the right time?! I’m curious!” Atlas shot back.

“Never!” Carmen hissed. 

“Besides,” Teophania supplied. “Siege protocols dropped and banned that at the end of the dark ages.”

“Ah, damn.” Atlas muttered, dejected. 

“Don’t worry, Atlas!” Hati said cheerfully, in an attempt to brighten his friend’s mood. “I’m sure you’ll find something interesting to study here soon!”

Atlas’ head spun back at an inhuman angle to look at Hati. “Is that an offer?” 

Hati’s face fell into a serious scowl. “No.”

“Joking, joking, of course.” Atlas explained cheerfully. 

“Okay, fine, but stop turning your head like that.” Hati said, gesturing to the Arcans leading their tour. “You’re scaring our hosts.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“It’s fine, Atlas, really.” Milo assured. “Apologies, I tend to be a little on edge in the days coming up to school starting. Nothing to do with you guys, I just always get stressed before school years start.”

Hati tilted his head a little innocently. “Have you tried going on a run?”

Sirena scoffed; her tone full of venom. “What? Why the hell would going on a run help? He’s the prince; he’s busy enough as it is.”

“Sometimes giving yourself a distraction really helps!” Hati explained cheerfully. “I like going on runs for that since it's healthy and I have time to look at things like plants and isopods and other wildlife. Even if it isn’t actually running, I’ve always thought it worked as a good reset. Maybe doing something you like to distract yourself might help?”

“Thanks for the suggestion, Hati. I really appreciate it.” Milo said with a quaint smile. “I’ll definitely keep that in mind.”

Hati beamed, clearly happy he could help. “Of course.”

Atlas used the moment to clap his hands on Hati’s shoulders and smile slyly to his friend. “Speaking of going on runs… I still need to complete some of my studies regarding werewolves, so do you think you could-”

“No.” Hati said immediately.

“What?! Why not?!” Atlas complained. “You didn’t even hear me out! You can’t just do that outright!”

“Watch me: no.” Hati supplied. 

“What did I ever do to you?!”

“You almost ripped my ears off 20 minutes ago!” Hati argued.

“Oh come on, Hati; I barely tugged on them! You’re usually more rough with them than I was. It’s just a study; you’ve helped me with it when I was supposed to study different packs before!”

“Yeah, and Garmr lectured me for five hours for that! And I had to eat last for a month!” Hati snapped. The experience of waiting while food tempted him on his plate until the rest of his pack finished the food on their plates before he could start eating didn’t tend to be a fun experience for someone as food driven as Hati had the potential to be.

“But you had fun, didn’t you?” Atlas questioned with a sly grin. 

Hati paused before he brushed Atlas’ hands off of him. “That doesn’t matter when we’re thinking about this situation.”

“But, come on, Hati! We’re friends, aren’t we? You’re super cool when I ask about tradition and stuff! Plus, the other pack is always so angry with me whenever I’m there to study.”

Hati frowned in thought. He knew Atlas wasn’t lying; the southern pack wasn’t exactly known for being forthcoming with information, and he really hated doing nothing when his friends needed help. He sighed. “Only if you get written permission from Garmr first. I’m not getting in trouble for the same thing twice when it isn’t even that exciting.”

“Yes!” Atlas exclaimed. “Thank you, my sometimes-covered-in-fur friend! I could kiss you!”

“Do it and I’ll angry bite you.” Hati told him immediately. Atlas shrugged, unoffended. 

“Stop it you two.” Teophania ordered. 

“Sorry, Tiff.” The two immediately apologized. 

“Also, Hati,” Atlas said as they walked. “I meant that kiss in a totally platonic way.”

“I know, Atlas; and I wasn’t denying because I don’t like you. You’re a great friend, but I’d prefer we didn’t because of-.”

“Your pack traditions, I understand.” Atlas finished the sentence calmly with a shrug. 

“Yeah.” Hati said. Then, he did a double take. “Wait, you know about my pack traditions?”

Atlas scoffed and chuckled. “Yeah, of course. You know how often the High Spirits insist on working with werewolves, especially in your pack. It’s only respectful that I know your traditions at least a little bit.” 

“Yeah, true.” Hati conceded, nodding a little in thought. 

“Why are you so surprised anyway?” Atlas questioned with a raised brow. “We literally do our morning prayers together.”

Hati frowned as he blushed brightly. “Hey, I don’t call you out when you forget things!” He shot back. Atlas merely chuckled at his antics.

“Hati, seriously, pay attention.” Teophania reminded sternly. 

“I am paying attention!” Hati argued.

“Memorizing scent profiles doesn’t count, Hati.” Teophania corrected without even glancing back towards him. 

“What?!” Hati snapped, embarrassed he’d been caught red-handed. “That isn’t fair!” He complained. “And you didn’t even look!” Teophania set a glare on him though, and he backed down. 

…

“And that’s the end of our tour.” Milo announced cheerfully, grinning at his guests while his eyes shone through his navy hair. “Your dorms are down that hall, and they should have your names on the plaques. The RA for the floor, Randy, should stop by soon to give you your schedules and he'll also let you know about any of the school events or rule updates. You're also always welcome to come to-”

“The student council room!” Sirena interrupted with a passive aggressive smile. “It’s next to the Headmaster’s office, and people will definitely point it out to you if you need it.”

“...Thanks.” Carmen said, clearly bemused by her interrupting their other host, who was leagues better at this than she was. “We might take you up on that.”

“We’ve got to go help run orientation tours now for Headmaster Anderson, so…” Sirena grinned, implying that she was about to drag Milo out of the conversation and into more of her commitments like she normally did with him. 

“You go ahead, Sirena. I’ve got some other stuff to take care of first, so I’ll catch up in a minute.” Milo said, hoping it would be enough to get her to give up on dragging him along. 

“Okay, then! I’ll see you. Goodbye!” 

“Bye!” Milo plastered on his diplomacy smile and waved, watching her leave their earshot before he spoke up again. “You’re also welcome to come to me if you need anything, and I’ll do my best to help you out.”

“Thank you, Milo.” Hati said cheerfully. “We really appreciate it.”

“Of course! That’s what I’m here for.”