The Hermit, The Tower, The World (Vol.2 Complete)

49th of Inandyl - 7th Emder

Calas woke on the second day of the Sunflame Dawn as per his usual routine. Apparently his body hadn't gotten the memo that the morning training sessions were postponed until Verdalune started, after the Sunflame Dawn had concluded. He groaned in frustration and moved his pillow on top of his face, shutting out the light that threatened to shine past the blackout curtains in the windows.

The nearly constant pelting of extra bright sunlight during the three-day cosmic event was found to be too distracting, not to mention slightly dangerous, to warrant the campus being fully open. Besides that, it was technically a holiday, but he was used to a routine and he found himself awake anyway. That didn't mean he was getting up, only that he was content to be awake in bed.

He wondered if the gods observed this time of rapid growth and strengthening of the sun as a holiday, too. Calas hoped so as he mentally checked the mark on his ribs. Still cold, and Orendell's silence unnerved him more and more each day. Like Rea's other little research project unnerved him the other day. Her even reading about that god was too close for comfort.

Two things terrified him about that whole conversation and for once it had nothing to do with the Drakonys pair's meddling. The first being that he was now convinced that Rea and Lady Crow were, in fact, the same person. The other was that her research into finding Calas, or rather Uriell, brought her much too close to some dangerous truths about him. Namely, his shifting into all those said beasts she mentioned.

Both of them meant disaster for him. As if it wasn't bad enough that he had a crush on her when she was Lady Crow, not to mention the near kiss, but the rate by which he found himself falling for Rea was alarming. Not that he would act on it, despite Jem's insistence that he should. He still wasn't "damn sure" that she felt anything of the sort for him, and that was just as well with her training now in full swing.

Calas knew there was no running from it either, at least not until this promise on his finger was fulfilled. That meant at least one more term that they would be tethered by the red, crimson, vermilion, scarlet thread. Whatever. Even after she found the paint set, the colors she created looked pretty much the same to Calas.

He turned over in bed as his focus drifted to that pulsating, and an anomaly caught his interest. The normal steady rhythm that led to the other end had become irregular, erratic even, and Calas' brow furrowed deeply. He put his full attention on it: quick, quick, quick, slow, quick, slow, slow, quick, slow, really slow, quick, quick, quick.

Then it started beating like a drum, faster and stronger, escalating to what could have been a single beat. Calas sat up, his concern growing as his own heartbeat raced with the odd pulsing sensation. He felt a flash at its peak, a climactic burst of energy like something shattered, and his mouth ran dry.

He held his breath until his chest began to ache in the absence of any rhythm whatsoever. Before panic could fully set in, the pulse emerged once more in a long, dull bleat. It was so painstakingly slow now and he found himself panting as if he had been running. Worry sank into his bones when he could only relate it to the last moments of a dying animal. It was then he remembered what he was focused on.

"Rea." He breathed her name as he bolted out of bed, dressing quickly. He was out the door in record time, but only got as far as the common room. She wasn't there, of course. He could point to her direction instinctively now, but she was on the girls side of the dormitories.

He stared down the hallway he knew led to her room. Her and Cira's room, though the elf was still away until after Verdalune began. Calas cursed himself for hesitating, but what was his plan here? Burst into her room, very dramatically, and tell her, what? Sorry to disturb you, but I felt this thread thing go crazy and just wanted to make sure you weren't dying?

It sounded stupid even in his own head.

Calas took a deep breath and forced himself to think. He pushed a questioning thought through the thread, hoping that she would just respond to the vague emotion he sent. His chest started to hurt again as he waited for a response that never came and he inhaled slowly.

Trying again, he sent a more urgent emotion, but again he waited too long for no response, only the slow, dull pulse that felt so weak remained. It felt so foreign compared to Rea's determination, the tempest in her blue eyes. Breathe, he thought, think.

He needed a plan for this and thought idly what Fara would do. After all, she had a knack for digging up knowledge and using that information to her advantage to get the outcome she wanted. He tilted his head hopefully at the thought of the conniving Panthara before he nodded at the idea that Fara was exactly what he needed.

Time was against him in this, as he had no idea how long that slow pulse would last. Calas decided to ask the source directly and dodge as many unnecessary questions as possible. He all but ran out of the Sanctum while he created a shield of shadow around himself as protection from the blinding rays of the Sunflame Dawn.

The answer to his dilemma was simple, he just needed a buffer. Fara and Vesa would be able to check on Rea, a friend, and make sure that everything was alright, which it clearly wasn't. All he had to do was lead them to the right conclusion without telling them how he knew. Calas went searching for Fara knowing that Vesa was likely with her, and started with the Drakonys common room.

When he got to the Infernal Hall, it took a little asking around, but he confirmed that neither of the mischievous pair were there. The next best option was the one place they always happened to appear, the Great Hall. He created another shield and set out for it.

As he walked, he checked on the clock tower, gauging how much time had passed since the pulsing went to this slow, drawn out, stasis-like state. It had only been twenty minutes by his estimation, but his anxiety only increased with the knowledge, and found himself running the rest of the way to the Hall.

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Thankfully when he got there, he did find them, tucked away in a corner and playing cards. He attempted to catch his breath before approaching them. This time he did not sneak, but wanted them to notice him instead. With a flick of his finger, he let a piece of mana-infused light sail directly into Fara's forehead. It was a direct hit, but absorbed harmlessly into her fur. She immediately rubbed the spot on her forehead it touched, letting out a hiss of shock.

While they complained at him, his presence fully known, Calas invited himself to join them and sat next to Vesa.

"Have you guys seen Rea this morning?" His question was rhetorical since he already knew that she hadn't moved since the night before, but they didn't need to know that.

Vesa hesitated, but shook her head looking toward Fara for her own answer. The Panthara girl's eyes narrowed at Calas and he could tell she was weighing him as her head moved slowly from side to side.

Calas heaved a sigh, feigning disappointment, but actually, he was calming his own emotions under Fara's perceptive gaze.

"I was afraid you were going to say that." The admission of fear wasn't feigned, and he continued, "We were supposed to have lunch together today, but I can't find her anywhere." The lie passed through his lips easily.

"Not anywhere?" Vesa asked for confirmation, incredulity in her voice.

"The Library?" Calas shook his head at her.

"The Greenhouse." Calas shook his head again.

"Professor Elandria's office."

"No office hours today because of the Sunflame Dawn." Calas responded.

Vesa hummed in thought so Fara interjected. "She often studies in her room." A devilish, toothy grin spread across her black furred face and the implication to Calas was loud and clear.

"Why would I check in her room? She's on the girl's side." Calas kept his patience in check as he bluffed the proper response the Panthara expected in an offended tone.

Inwardly, he was just glad he finally led them to the correct path, but gods it should not have taken them this long. He checked on the slow pulse again, making sure it was still present. It was only mildly relieving when he found it unchanged.

Fara's catty chuckle brought him back to the conversation.

"What's the matter, Calas? Too scared to go knock on her door by yourself?" She taunted and it was irritating to him how close she was to the truth. "Afraid that people might get the right idea about the two of you?"

"You are dreaming, Fara, if you think that pushing us together is the right idea for anyone." Calas scoffed derisively and their eyes bore into one another's for several long moments, the fur around Fara's face standing on edge.

"Just admit that you like her already. Is that so hard for you?" There was a growl laced in Fara's voice.

Calas felt the predator stir within him at the challenge, but gripped the feeling tightly. This was no time to get into a row. Not before they agreed to help. But he felt a tightness in his ribs and he set his jaw.

"It's none of your business." His voice was strained but there was no helping that.

Her voice turned cold, "Malakh was right about you after all. And here I thought maybe, just maybe, you would prove him wrong in this case."

"Excuse me?" Calas barked it at her in a similar cold tone.

"You heard me!" Fara was emphatic and the sound of her voice was putting Vesa visibly on edge, worry creasing her forehead. "Malakh has been trying to find his replacement for the organizing aide. For some reason, he wants you to do it, but you are so damned stuck on the idea that being a staffer is a punishment that he can't recommend you for it. He thinks you are doing it on purpose."

Calas blinked in astonishment. Where was this even coming from? Before he could respond though, it was Vesa who interjected this time. The Infernai made calming gestures toward both Calas and Fara as she spoke in a soothing voice.

"Now, now, you two. There's no need to get so worked up about this! It's no big deal for all of us, Serea's friends, to go check on her and bring her lunch. Yes?" She stressed the word friends as if reminding them what they were to each other as well as Rea.

"Agreed. Can we go now?" His fists clenched tightly, Calas started moving before either of them had a chance to sidebar why he came here.

"Good," he heard Vesa from behind, "Now let's get her lunch."

Fara and Vesa followed closely behind and they all made their way to the mess side of the Hall. It all went too slowly for Calas as he narrowed his focus to the soft beat from the thread as he waited for the both of them at the main door.

The pair of them met up with him only a few minutes later. Wordlessly, he put a shadowed barrier over them all like a shaded parasol and they made their way through the radiant storm of light that was the Sunflame Dawn toward the Sanctum. As they walked, that slow rhythm pulsed to the burning on his ribcage.

It seemed Fara was not content to walk in silence, though, as she continued her tirade that Vesa had interrupted.

"If this is because of what happened last year," Fara started in a cold tone, "let me be the first to tell you to get over yourself, already! So a scribe got hurt. They are fine now and you should be too. Besides, no one actually believes those weird rumors that you turned into a bear."

Calas kept his face carefully blank at the mention of his shifting, but inside he seethed like the amplified rays of the sun.

"I fail to see how any of this is related to Rea. Or Malakh."

Fara let out a frustrated growl.

"Uhg! You stupid man! Do I have to spell it out for you?!" The question was clearly rhetorical as she went on to spell it out anyway. "Stop punishing yourself! You don't have to atone anymore, and honestly, you never did to begin with! You've made mistakes, but you're human and that is normal. Blackclaw kept you as his staffer because you're good at it.

"Jem kept bugging me that you weren't around because he was genuinely worried about you and you made his job fun. He actually thinks the world of you!" She heaved a sigh, lowering her voice, but not the intensity.

"Serea likes you because she thinks you're a good person and Malakh thinks the same." Her expression turned bitter again. "But no one will ever know whether that is true or not if you keep acting like you don't care!"

Calas' face was a mask of boredom. Any other time, he probably would have found this funny, but Rea might be in real danger and none of what Fara said really mattered to him at the moment.

"Are you done?" His voice matched his patient, unyielding expression when he locked eyes with the Panthara as they neared the Sanctum. Some part of him recognized this would only prove her point, but the thought was distant to him, consumed by the dull pulse he could feel so close now.

There was silence until Calas opened the door to the Sanctum for them both.

On the way through, Fara hissed in his ear, "We're not finished with this conversation."

"Yes, we are." Calas hissed back at her inside the door, a dangerous flash in his eyes. A new sensation awakened as the tingle on his ribs grew stronger. He tried and failed to keep the low growl from escaping his throat.

Something in the comment or the stirring of Orendell, put Fara suddenly off balance. The dismay was plain on her face as she stopped, standing dead still, and he moved on from her.
When she caught up with them again down the hall, she was expressionless and silent. His focus wasn't on her at all. Only the slow, pulsing rhythm on the girl's side of the dormitories.

He only hoped whatever was happening to Rea that they weren't too late.