Breaking the rules!

[highonlullabies]

*reserved for Fell*

Ky tiptoed up the steps to the top of the tower, Tal scurrying along just in front of him.

"Tal! We\'re not supposed to be up here!" He whispered fiercely at the ermine. Not that he really minded being up in the east tower, he was somewhat glad that Tal did this, it would give him an alibi if he did get caught. Not that he was one to break the rules. He just really loved the view.

They reached the top, and Ky\'s breath caught in his throat. The clouds that had covered the sky during the day had disappeared, and the ebony sky was clear of all coverings, allowing the stars to dance in the sky, and the moon to peer down at the ground below. Seeing the moon calmed him, and the light twinkled in his eyes, and made his alabaster skin practically glow.

"The sky really is beautiful, tonight, huh, Tal?" Ky asked, and Tal scampered up Ky\'s leg until she got onto his shoulder. "We should probably go before we get caught." Ky informed her, but felt so relaxed by the beauty of the sky that he couldn\'t make himself move.

[Fell]

So maybe Ravi had a lot of work to do back in his room, and maybe he should really be there doing it, but the apprentice just didn\'t feel like it right now. It had been one long, hot day, and he\'d spent most of it with Faris - working of course. So when night finally fell and things cooled off a little, the last thing Ravi wanted to do was sit inside sun-heated stone and do paperwork. Which was precisely why he\'d come up to the East Tower.

The air demon was seated on top of the door, on the thick, stone structure that formed the hallway leading up. His head was leaned back, fingers laced behind it as a pillow. Ravi\'s eyes were trained on he stars. Gods, it\'s nice to be out here, he thought, lidding his eyes as he stared upwards.

Ravi heard footsteps when they were all the way down at the bottom of the tower, listening as they rose flight after flight of stairs and finally came to the top of the tower. The apprentice didn\'t move, nor was he particularly worried about who it might be. They sounded like someone who was sneaking in, even without the help of what they were saying.

"Yeah, probably," Ravi half-called down to the boy (it sure sounded male, anyway), a faint smile playing on his face. "But I don\'t hear you moving, so you\'re probably not planning on leaving right away. Oh well," the demon added, still in that soft call that wouldn\'t carry but assured that the other would hear him. "Really is pretty tonight..." Ravi added after a moment, sunset eyes taking in Orion, then the Dipper, then Leo...

[highonlullabies]

Kyhel jumped at the sound of the other\'s voice. He looked around but couldn\'t see anyone, and when he heard the voice again, he looked up, and saw a winged boy.

"Oh, please don\'t tell anyone that I\'m up here!" Kyhel pleaded, he then turned to Tal. "I told you we shouldn\'t come up here! Why do I always let you get me into situations?"

He then looked more closely at the boy, and felt a sense of security that the other wouldn\'t get him into trouble. He hoped at least.

"I really am not a big \'rule-breaker\'. I just like to stargaze every once in awhile..." Kyhel worried his lower lip and realized that what he said just contradicted himself. \'I\'m not a big rule-breaker\'? No, I just enjoy stargazing at a place that\'s against the rules. He berated himself for talking before completely thinking things through.

[Fell]

Ravi couldn\'t help but laugh at the boy\'s passionate plea. "Don\'t worry, don\'t worry!" the demon said, rolling onto his side to get a better look at the other. He was a pretty good-looking guy, with nice eyes. There was just a feel to them - Ravi liked it. He smiled down at him.

"I do too. Used to come up here all the time, even when I was a student. Then again," Ravi added, chucking, "it\'s a lot harder to stop me." The demon flared his wings a little bit at that one, making his reference perfectly clear. Nice to know I\'m not the only one who appreciates the sky, Ravi thought, offering a hand down to the boy.

"I\'m Ravi. High Apprentice to Faris. You?" the sunset-haired boy asked with an easy smile. This is so much better than paperwork, Ravi thought, glad he\'d decided to go up to the East Tower than night. It looked like he might be making a new friend, and... Well, Ravi could always use another friend. His work left him kind of lonely sometimes.

[highonlullabies]

Ky beamed when the winged boy smiled.

"Thank you!" He exclaimed.

He nodded when the other motioned with his wings, and Ky took the other\'s hand.

"I\'m Kyhel Terneamitore, one of the Healers in the infirmary. Most people call me Ky, though. Pleased to meet you, Ravi!" Ky flashed a cute smile, and with his peripheral vision he saw the smug look on Tal, as if to say \'I think you owe me an apology.\' "Oh, and this is Tal."

Ky felt a sense of ease around Ravi, and he knew that they\'d be good friends. I\'ll have two new friends in one day! Ky then got a better look at Ravi, though, and saw that he was a good-looking guy, and felt nervousness creep in. Why am I so nervous around boys?

[Fell]

What a nice guy! Ravi thought, hoping that Ky was what he seemed to be and not, like so many at the Academy, just pretending to get ahead. But at least he\'s not a student... He\'s a healer. All that might not touch them as much, Ravi added. He didn\'t know much about servant politics.

Ravi did notice the cute smile, though. The demon couldn\'t help but smile back. "Pleasure\'s all mine," he retorted, still grinning. Ravi looked down a little more to see Tal, the ermine. "Tal, huh? Is he a pet?" he asked, giving the ermine a little wave. Horses were his favourite animals, but Ravi liked them all a little bit. Especially the soft ones.

Ravi looked up when he felt something very subtle change in Ky. Nothing big or terribly important, but it seemed like the guy had just gotten a little dash of nerves. Ravi, being the over-trained student he was, did an immediate but subtle scan of everything around them in an effort to detect anything out of line. It didn\'t take more than a few seconds. There was nothing, though, which meant the nervousness was probably coming from Ky himself. Guess I\'ll have to be gentle, Ravi thought with an inward grin. Ky himself seemed like a gentle guy, though.

"So why are you at the Academy?" Ravi asked softly, sitting up a little and patting the spot next to him, offering Ky a nice spot to view the sky from as well. People were often more relaxed when they were doing something they liked, and if Ky liked the night sky then stargazing might be a good way to get him to loosen up.

[highonlullabies]

"Tal, huh? Is he a pet?"

Ky giggled, and Tal brooded darkly.

"Tal is a she. And she would never allow me to think of her as a pet. She\'s a friend," Ky informed him, but smiled. The wave seemed to improve Tal\'s mood, slightly, which made Ky happy. "She\'ll forgive you, though. So, don\'t worry too much."

When Ravi patted the spot next to him, Ky quickly went and sat next to him, and looked up at the moon.

"Well, I once was a student here, but... I wasn\'t very good. I was skilled with magick, but I don\'t like hurting people," Ky looked at Ravi, and hoped that he wouldn\'t think that he was weak or anything. Many of the others had thought that of him. "And, well, I had seen a lot of people get injured and I figured that the Academy would need a good healer, so I decided to stay so that I could prevent some of the deaths."

Ky felt his nervousness leave as he sat there by Ravi, and he smiled as he turned to look back at the sky.

[Fell]

More of a friend, huh? Ravi thought, liking this guy more and more. It was nice to see someone treat an animal well. "Uh, sorry about that then, Tal," the demon said to the ermine, grinning sheepishly as he did. It sounded like Tal had a little more going on than your typical ermine.

Ravi just nodded when Ky mentioned disliking hurting people. It wasn\'t for everyone. Sometimes Ravi wondered how he could be who he was and still live as an assassin, but... well, beyond the thrill of the hunt and the pride he brought to his line\'s name, Ravi liked being able to kill because it meant that, someday, he could kill those who really deserved it. Corrupt leaders and the like... That was what Ravi wanted to use his skills for, eventually.

"Sounds like a good reason to me," the demon said with a grin. Ky seemed to have a really good heart. He also seemed to be loosening up a little, which Ravi was glad about. It was always better to talk to someone when they were comfortable and happy. Interactions just ended better. "If you don\'t mind my asking, what house were you in?" Ravi asked, just trying to keep the conversation going. It sounded like he would have been in Erudito, if magic was his thing, but you never knew.

[highonlullabies]

Ky scrunched his face slightly when Ravi asked what House he had been in.

"Veneficus. Magick and all. But, I ended up being a disappointment to them..." Ky shrugged. "They feel I\'m wasting my magickal skills. But, I feel as if the world has enough hurting, and I want to be able to relieve some of that hurting."

Ky looked up and saw a shooting star fly across the night sky, and he quickly closed his eyes tightly and thought of a wish. Umm... I wish... Pink tinged his cheeks. Ravi kept coming into his thoughts, but he didn\'t want to wish for something for himself, because he found that selfish. I wish that wars and plague and famine didn\'t exist. He wished, but that was a cover-up wish, for his initial one had been: I wish Ravi would kiss me. The thought somewhat shocked Ky, because he had just met Ravi, but he just felt a kindness about Ravi, and he felt safe near him.

While Ky\'s eyes were closed, Tal moved across Ky\'s shoulder to Ravi\'s, and \'gently\' bit his earlobe, as if to tell him to kiss Ky.

[Fell]

Ravi snorted when Ky told him about the opinions of those in Veneficus. Just because the kid wasn\'t a killer, he was wasting his time? "I\'m sure they start to see things in a different light each time they crawl to the infirmary for healing," Ravi said wryly, a half-smile playing on his face. "It\'s a good thing to do, too... Make the world a less painful place," the demon added, though he knew how hypocritical it might sound when coming from him - a student of the art of death. Still, that was what he thought.

"Uhh, are you...?" Ravi asked when Ky suddenly scrunched up his face - then started blushing. The apprentice couldn\'t help but raise an eyebrow. It was pretty damn adorable, but he had no idea what the other wa - Oh! "Did I miss a shooting star?" Ravi asked just before Tal crawled up onto his shoulder and gave his earlobe an unnecessarily strong nibble.

Ravi flinched away, but didn\'t make any noise. It hurt a whole lot less than most of his training, though he still didn\'t appreciate it. And, unfortunately for both Tal and Ky, Ravi wasn\'t the kind of guy to rush into things. It hurt, a lot of times... so whether or not Ravi found Ky attractive, he didn\'t want to kiss him when he had his eyes closed and was in the middle of wishing. What if he wasn\'t interested? Ky wouldn\'t even have a change to protest, because Ravi knew how to move silently better than most - Ky wouldn\'t have any idea it was coming!

Besides, self-control was something Ravi had to practice day-in and day-out, just to stay a competent assassin. This was just more of the same... though sometimes Ravi wondered if a little more impulse in his life wouldn\'t hurt.

Instead of doing anything too drastic, Ravi just spread a wing, placing it gently around Ky\'s shoulders. "I know it\'s a little cold up here for most," Ravi said by way of explanation, smiling at the boy to his side. While he did care about the other\'s physical comfort, especially on a matter so simple as this one, he couldn\'t help but admit to himself that he also wanted the other near. Touching. It was nice...

[highonlullabies]

"I\'m terribly sorry!" Ky apologized when Tal bit Ravi\'s earlobe. "Tal! What got into you?" Ky held up a hand, to heal the wound and also to make sure it didn\'t get infected. "Tal usually doesn\'t act like this. I\'m really sorry."

Ky took Tal and placed her at his side farthest away from Ravi. He knew that Tal was just trying to help, but Ky truly wasn\'t a forward person. Never one to rush into things, though he didn\'t spend too much time thinking things through, always, either.

When Ravi placed a wing around Ky, he smiled back at him. "Thank you." Ky had been oblivious to the cold up till that point, but when Ravi mentioned it, he realized just how cold it was, and brought his knees up to his chest. He muttered a spell to make the cold more bearable, and then felt warmth fill him.

"Aren\'t you cold?" He asked, and looked worriedly towards Ravi. He didn\'t want him to get sick.

[Fell]

Ravi grinned at Ky, not really worried about his ear - especially when Ky reached up and healed it. "It\'s fine! I get worse from my master," he said lightly, not even realising how what he\'d said might sound. Worse from his master? The guy was supposed to be helping and nurturing him, not wounding him. All that might have gone through someone else\'s head, but for Ravi, who\'d grown up rough... Well, it all seemed perfectly in order. Ky would probably see it that way too, seeing as he\'d been in the school.

"No problem," Ravi said, squeezing just a little with his wing. He listened as Ky recited a spell, and felt the slight warmth come off of him. That\'s useful, the demon thought, wishing he could do something like that with cold. Then again, maybe I can. I\'ll have to ask him to show me. It sure would be nice for those hot days...

"Huh?" Ravi asked, turning his head towards Ky. He\'d been thinking, not listening. Quickly, he went over the last things he\'d heard. "Oh... no, I don\'t mind the cold. We fly too high to let the cold effect us much - Air Demons, I mean. It wouldn\'t be practical," Ravi explained, completely unashamed of his heritage. So they were rare, but he\'d long since stopped caring about what people thought of the word "demon". It wasn\'t worth it, and Ky didn\'t seem like the kind to judge...

Well, I hope anyway... Ravi thought, suddenly a little nervous.

[highonlullabies]

He gets worse from his master? Ky thought sadly. He wasn\'t unused to it, but that didn\'t mean that he like it, either. He looked at Ravi, and gave him an empathetic smile, to show that he understood.

"An Air Demon? That\'s so neat!" Ky beamed and instantly became curious. "I\'ve heard that they\'re really rare. You become and Air Demon, right?" Ky was sure that he had read somewhere about them, but he couldn\'t remember very much. He wished that he had known more, because he felt as if he was a bad friend if he didn\'t know about the race that his friend was. "I\'m a Grey Elf, but you might have already noticed that." He told Ravi.

Tal decided that they were boring, for they weren\'t talking about her, and curled up and went to sleep. Ky giggled slightly, and shook his head. You\'re so silly... He thought to himself.

[Fell]

Honestly, Ravi was surprised Ky even knew what they were, let alone thought they were neat. That he knew they weren\'t born really showed off how much the guy knew. Ravi had to chuckle. "You know a lot about us," the demon said with a grin, "especially given how few people know more than that we have the word \'demon\' in our species name."

The high apprentice noticed it when Tal curled up, but did little more than smile. He really couldn\'t blame her; it was late, after all, and he should probably be sleeping. But that wouldn\'t be any fun.

"I thought so," Ravi said to his new friend with a grin. "No offense, but you have the typical look." Gently, the demon reached out to flick a bang that was busily spilling over the elf\'s left eye to indicate just what he meant. Ravi had learned about all the different races and how to identify them in his house, largely because race often determined culture, and knowing what cultural background your companion was from could be the difference between a good impression and mortal insult.

Ravi thought a moment before deciding to ask his next question. "I hope you don\'t mind my asking or the implication," the redhead began carefully, "but how did you end up here? Grey elves usually keep to themselves." Maybe a little stereotypical, but it was hardly as though the Grey\'s hadn\'t earned that particular reputation. Ravi didn\'t hold it against them, either - it was just another fact of life.

[highonlullabies]

Ky blushed slightly when Ravi told him that he knew a lot about his race. He felt as if was a compliment, or something close to that, but it made Ky feel somewhat odd. He had been told he spent too much time with his nose in books, but he enjoyed them.

When Ravi brushed Ky\'s bangs away from his face, he felt his breath catch in his throat, but he hoped that Ravi wouldn\'t notice. He didn\'t want to rush into things, really, but his mind and heart often quarreled.

"Well... it had been tradition for the women in my family to be trained at the Academy, but my grandma didn\'t want my mother to get tangled up in the business, but then when I was born, we started having problems with money and so they sent me to the Academy, because at least I would be able to have food and shelter..." Ky missed his family, and a few tears fell down his cheeks while talking about it. "... Sorry. I don\'t mean to be so sensitive..."

Ky brushed away the tears, and smiled ruefully at Ravi.

[Fell]

Ravi was trained to notice everything about whoever he was with. When Ky\'s breath caught, Ravi could tell. Immediately, he drew his hand back. The demon didn\'t know if it was fear that had caused it, or.... Or something else, Ravi thought, somewhere between excited and surprised. Could Ky really...? Ravi gave himself a mental shake. Time would tell.

It didn\'t surprise Ravi much when Ky began to cry. He seemed like the type that would cry easily - which Ravi didn\'t consider an insult or a weakness. Many at the Academy might, but Ravi thought of it as simply another way of dealing with things. You really wouldn\'t make a good assassin, the apprentice thought of Ky with a smile. Deftly, Ravi wiped Ky\'s eyes with a sleeve. He barely touched the other\'s skin, catching the water perfectly on the fabric. It was all the training, nothing more, that allowed him to do so.

"It\'s okay. It wouldn\'t be a good thing if everyone had a hard heart. I\'m glad there are people here without them," Ravi said simply, giving Ky a smile. The demon wasn\'t really sure where he fell anymore. He\'d considered himself soft-hearted for so long, but he hadn\'t cried after his first kill. He hadn\'t even felt bad about it, and it was more than just "following orders". The truth was, Ravi had been happy to kill the guy - a minor slave trader who\'d crossed some rich noble when he took his illegitimate kid. In Ravi\'s eyes, he\'d deserved it.

When he\'d first realised that, Ravi had been a little disconcerted. It didn\'t fit with his self-image, but apparently, that was how he was. "Can\'t you go back to them?" the demon asked, in part to distract himself from his own thoughts. "...Not that I\'m unhappy to have you here," Ravi added thoughtfully, giving Ky a wry smile as he did.

[highonlullabies]

When Ravi\'s hand darted away from Ky\'s face when his breath caught, Ky silently cursed himself.

So, when Ravi brushed away the tears, Ky thanked him, and was proud that he had managed to make sure his breath didn\'t catch again.

Ky was pleased that Ravi didn\'t think badly of him because he cried easily. Ky smiled back at Ravi, but it still had a rueful feel to it, and Ky felt as if something were distracting Ravi, but wasn\'t sure, and remained silent to give Ravi time to think about whatever he was thinking about. Ky looked up at the sky, and let his emotions and thoughts drift about in the silence.

When Ravi asked him why he didn\'t go back to his family, Ky was taken aback. What\'s that mean? He wondered, and wondered if Ravi was implying that he didn\'t want him there, but then Ravi added that he wasn\'t unhappy with Ky being there, and Ky felt relieved. But he still had to wonder: Why was he there? The Academy wasn\'t any place for someone like him. But, yet, it was where he belonged. Somehow the fact that he didn\'t belong there, made him belong there. He didn\'t know how to explain it.

"Well... I write them. But... I need to be here. I don\'t know why, but I don\'t know how I could leave this place, I would worry what would happen to everyone. And I would wonder if someone had died, and then feel guilt, because I might have been able to stop that death. So, I guess I\'ve made this a self-imposed prison," Ky shrugged. "But, it\'s not all that bad. I mean, I meet the most interesting people. And I learn so much. I just feel that I need to be here. Maybe eventually I\'ll be able to leave, but for now, this is where I belong."

Ky giggled, for he had just been babbling. "Sorry for babbling so much. Does what I said make sense at all?" Ky wasn\'t certain if it made sense to even himself.

[Fell]

Poor guy, feeling responsible like that. Maybe that was the curse of being a healer. At least when someone died around Ravi, it was usually because he\'d meant for them to. But when it happened to Ky... You probably think it means you messed up each time. Damn, maybe it does, the demon thought, looking over at the other boy.

"Healing seems hard. On the mind, I mean," Ravi said, clarifying quickly. "I\'m lucky..." He thought about going on, but Ky seemed gentle enough that elaborating might be... mean. Besides, why would he agree? Killing people wasn\'t easier for everyone. It probably wasn\'t even easier for most. Which is why the Academy is so small, Ravi thought, looking around them. They could see the whole place from here, making it a great perch.

Ravi realised suddenly that he hadn\'t answered Ky\'s last question. He turned to the elf with a grin. "And yes, it all made sense. Don\'t doubt yourself so much," the sunset-haired boy said, giving Ky a light tap on the shoulder.

[highonlullabies]

Ky knew that he shouldn\'t doubt himself so much. He didn\'t mean to, but he couldn\'t bring himself to not doubt himself.

"Healing is difficult, but for me it\'s easier than killing," Ky replied, and chuckled slightly because Ravi felt the exact opposite it seemed. "Either way I would feel guilty if someone died, and with healing, then at least I get the good feeling when I can prevent someone from dying. It\'s just the way I am, I guess. Thank you, though," he was glad that Ravi was so understanding.

[Fell]

(Sorry it\'s been so long. Should be more regular now that I\'m back in school)

Ravi grinned; there was no need for Ky to have thanked him. "Don\'t worry about it," the air demon replied gently. But he wasn\'t really sure what to say after that... Ravi looked up again, just admiring the stars for a moment while he tried to think of something to say.

Finally, the demon settled for honesty. "I don\'t really know what to say next," Ravi said with a chuckle. He brought his head down, closing his eyes as he did and leaving them that way for a moment before turning his head towards Ky and opening them onto the elf\'s own. "You have any ideas?"

Ravi felt a little silly asking for conversation topics, but he just really didn\'t know where to go from here. Ky seemed like the type who might understand anyway - or at least forgive the demon\'s silliness, if he saw it that way.