Chapter Text
Rain.
Of all things for him to not account for during his first few days of attending school, the one thing that had completely slipped his mind was the possibility of rain.
Frowning, Jamil’s eyes wandered up to the arches of the entryway he was standing under. He watched the rainwater that streamed along its curves, looking past the beveled edges to eye the large droplets that drummed against a nearby tree. They seemed large and dense enough to cause its branches to bow slightly, its leaves relentlessly moved by its force against their frailer surface.
The sight was accompanied by the audible beat of raindrops splattering into puddles forming within the dips of stone walkways. A dull symphony of water against hard stone and softened dirt; an ambience that was as heavy as the damp smell of wet earth.
Given his personal circumstances, rain was one of the last things he’d ever really account for. Living in the dry, arid climate of the Scalding Sands, the only use he’d ever had for an umbrella was as a means for shade from the blistering heat of the sun. Evidently, the climate was much the opposite on the main campus grounds. Besides the dampness of steady rainfall, the autumn air felt chilly enough to nip at his cheeks. It reminded him of the frigid cold of a desert night, albeit more moist than what he was accustomed to.
Despite what he’d heard from others to be an inconvenience, he found himself fascinated with witnessing rain for the first time. It was one thing to hear or read about how storm clouds - much darker and angrier than their light, feathery counterparts - overshadowed something as vast and endless as the open sky. It was another to see just how much water was held within their masses, pouring so freely that its rain filled every hole and crevice within the surrounding earth. So much so, in fact, that it completely overflowed from wherever it occupied.
There was water everywhere. It streamed along beams and branches, pouring over railings and pipes, flowing along uneven ground to form makeshift streams, as if it were engulfing as much earth as it could possibly reach. For someone whose learned experience with water was in how limited and contained it was within the arid climate of his homeland, it was almost enchanting for him to see for himself.
Eventually, he came to realize just how long he’d been standing there, gawking wordlessly up at the rain. He had to get back to his room to get some textbooks before his next class began, and the mirror chamber was a sizeable distance from the side of campus that he was currently at.
Sighing a quiet breath, he reached up to take a hold of the sides of his hoodie. He pulled it over his head, before brushing his hands through his hair to tuck it completely beneath its protection. Admittedly, it wasn’t nearly as protective as he probably needed at the moment; It was raining quite steadily, and he was doubtful that his sweater would be enough to keep his head completely dry from how relentlessly it was falling.
Nonetheless, he tucked his shoulder bag closer to his side, before his hands moved to rest within the warmth of his pockets. With another quick glimpse up towards the darkened sky, he tilted his head back down, and stepped out of the shelter of the entranceway.
His steps were quick, and he immediately felt the way his shoes sank into softened earth. They padded damply in the mud for a couple of steps, before he found his footing onto a stone walkway. They slipped slightly against the slick surface, and his hands - reflexively - flew out of his pockets to balance himself. Even with his hood up, he could feel each heavy raindrop that pelted against his head and his shoulders, the dampness very quickly seeping through his blazer to cause a wet chill to run through him.
Normally, being soaked was a welcomed, refreshing thing for him. His norm, however, was usually beneath the blistering heat of the desert sun. In stark contrast, this unrelenting dampness was accompanied by the crisp chill of autumn air; Each gust of wind - regardless of how small and seemingly harmless they were - felt sharp and frigid, adding an edge to each dense raindrop. It almost felt as though they cut at his cheeks and the tip of his nose, leaving a more prominent chill in their wake.
In essence, he was quickly learning how miserable being out in a cold rain really was. It gave him all the more reason to chastise himself for not being as readily prepared as he thought he was.
He sighed heavily again, his hands moving out of his pockets to grab a hold of the sides of his hood. Keeping his head down, he held onto it in an attempt to cover his head more, feeling how the rain trickled down his fingers to curl around his wrists. He shuddered uncomfortably when it seeped further down the length of his arms, wetting the skin beneath the layers of his sweater and his blazer.
“This sucks ,” he thought to himself. “This would’ve been so much nicer in warmer weather…”
“Did you forget to bring an umbrella?”
Blinking, he found himself startled enough to stop, his eyes quickly moving from where they were glaring at his shoes. He looked sideways, very briefly acknowledging the sudden presence of another person, before he found his gaze moving upwards. He raised a brow at the black umbrella that loomed over him, his eyes lingering on the school crest printed on one of its sides.
He recognized it as one of the other dorms’ logos. Upon closer inspection, he recognized the curved seashell at its center as that of Octavinelle’s crest.
“I do commend your willingness to be out here while it’s raining this hard,” the voice continued. It sounded airy and melodious, almost as though it were humming as he spoke. “Though… you’re absolutely soaked.”
His darker eyes moved away from the umbrella to look sideways once again. He found his gaze meeting steel blue, feeling as though they’d been staring at him since the other person had joined him at his side. The eye contact was followed soon after by the curve of a smile on the boy’s lips, drawing his attention towards a prominent beauty mark at the corner of his mouth.
“I’m sorry,” the stranger chuckled, his free hand resting over his chest apologetically, “I haven’t even introduced myself yet.”
Jamil - reflexively wary from the sudden intrusion - only nodded slowly. He took a moment to look him over.
He was immediately drawn to his silver hair, noticing the subtle curls in its styling. It looked a touch messy, but it also seemed particular - Like organized chaos, he thought. The side of his face was framed by a longer strand of curly hair, on the very same side that his beauty mark was on. On the other side of his face, his bangs were tucked behind the delicate curve of his ear, exposing the soft arch of a pale brow.
He moved down to his face, eyeing the glasses that sat neatly atop his nose. Behind them were ashened blue eyes, shadowed by long, dark lashes. The contrast made his eyes look more prominent, enough so that he found his own eye drawn naturally towards them. He felt the intrusive green of envy from the allure that brighter eyes always had - a subtle bristle at the back of his neck that was gone just as quickly as it had been brought to his conscious awareness.
Most stirring for him, however, was a vague feeling he couldn’t quite shake. It was a very particular sensation - one that made him feel as though he’d seen this person before.
“My name is Azul.”
He paused. Dramatic effect, Jamil realized.
“Azul Ashengrotto. I’m from Octavinelle.” His smile grew, enough for his eyes to disappear. Jamil eyed the dimples that indented prominently at his cheeks. “I’m a first year student.”
“Ah,” came Jamil’s short response.
“Just like me,” came the silent thought that followed.
Azul chuckled again, switching hands so the umbrella was being held between the both of them. “I should have asked if it was alright for me to approach you like this,” he mused, moreso to himself. “Again, my apologies. I just felt awful, seeing you caught out in the rain. I figured it would help to offer you some respite, since my umbrella’s big enough for two.”
“It’s fine,” Jamil answered. He shrugged, the corner of his lip curling into an amicable smile. “Thanks for the offer.”
Despite his discomfort, he figured that there wasn’t any harm in being friendly to the other students in his cohort. Even more so if they seemed helpful to him.
“I’m Jamil.”
“Jamil…”
Azul smiled, his expression seeming to soften as he spoke his name. He hummed, tilting his head slightly to motion for the both of them to walk together down the stone walkway they were standing on.
“Nice to meet you, Jamil.”
“Yeah. Nice to meet you too.” He waved his hand vaguely towards his umbrella. “And thanks. For sharing your umbrella.”
“Oh, please. The pleasure is all mine.” Azul’s smile grew more. Jamil found his eyes sliding away, slightly unnerved when he felt how much the other boy’s gaze continued to linger on him.
“Are you on your way to class?”
“To the mirror chamber,” Jamil clarified, his eyes moving down to his shoes once again. He found his gaze flickering to the other boy’s dress shoes. He noticed how pristine they looked, despite the leather having been splattered by rainfall. He frowned when he looked back towards his own running shoes, eyeing the clumps of damp mud that were stuck to their surface.
“Oh, that’s perfect,” he said, delighted. “I’m heading in that exact direction, actually.”
Jamil nodded, his eyes tracing upwards to look at the hand that was between them. He was wearing gloves, he noticed. Like his shoes, the black leather looked expensive and well-crafted, further solidifying the refined impression he had of the other boy.
It reminded him of the place he was in. He’d known about the prestige of Night Raven College - it was one of the most prominent selling points for him vying for his admission into the school, after all - and was acutely aware of how many of its students had very prominent backgrounds.
The thought caused him to tense subtly, finding himself suddenly very aware that Azul could have been one such student. His brow creased, attempting to wrack his mind to think of whether or not he’d heard of the Ashengrotto name from somewhere before. Maybe that was why he couldn’t shake the feeling of familiarity he had from him? Perhaps his family was one of prominence?
But that begged the question of why he would have approached him. If he was someone who was so important, why would he have come to him of his own volition, let alone to offer him his help?
“I’m sorry if this comes off as strange…”
Jamil blinked, glancing back up towards Azul when he realized that a silence had drifted between them. Azul was looking away from him now, his lighter eyes focused on nothing in particular as they continued to walk along the pathway they were on.
“I recognized you from orientation. That’s partially the reason why I approached you in the first place.”
Jamil’s brows rose subtly. That was more likely the reason why he felt so familiar; He’d probably caught a glimpse of the other boy during opening ceremonies.
That didn’t, however, entirely disprove the lingering thought that he was talking to someone who was far above his league.
Azul laughed airily at his own confession, his eyes wandering back up to meet his gaze again. “I figured that you were a first year like I was. And it certainly doesn’t hurt to make acquaintances, considering we may be in the same classes over the next three years.”
He paused, as if there was something in Jamil’s expression that caused him to reconsider what he’d said. Jamil stared back at him, curious.
“At least…” he began again, “I am very open to making acquaintances with other people here.”
There was a certain tone that he used, one that caused Jamil’s brow to furrow. It reminded him of the sellers at the local market back in his hometown. It was mostly in the way they’d speak politely, with a biting undertone that made their unspoken intentions clear; That there was a business transaction in the works, a potential barter lingering over the interaction. It felt similar to a lure being cast out, intent on whether or not there would be a bite in return.
Jamil - despite his personal desire to be as unnoticeable as possible while he attended this school - found his interest piqued by the challenge.
“For me, I think it depends on the type of people who are here,” he replied, his expression thoughtful. “There are some names I’ve heard of, who have the potential to be interesting to talk to.”
“Oh?” Azul’s tone raised an octave, interested. “Such as?”
Jamil scoffed in response. “Some upperclassmen, mostly.”
He ignored the silence that came between them, well aware that Azul was waiting for him to elaborate. When he didn’t choose to do so, the other boy hummed thoughtfully.
“Interesting…” Azul murmured. He brought a gloved hand up to tap at his chin. “I do wonder if there’s anyone in our year to take note of.”
“Probably.” Jamil shrugged, his hands casually moving down to his pockets. He could feel how wet the fabric felt from his earlier bout beneath the rainfall. “Considering that we’re all going to be in the same classes for the next three years, you have plenty of time for taking notes.”
The other boy laughed, amused at having his exact words echoed back to him. The sound was delighted, almost intrigued. “You’re right,” he replied, his head turning to look towards him. His lashes shadowed more prominently over his gaze when he eyed him from lowered eyelids.
“Perhaps, we can exchange notes sometime.”
Jamil scoffed again. He shrugged a shoulder, hastening his pace enough to walk a couple strides ahead of him. After stepping over a couple of stair steps, he ducked under the shelter of another arched entrance way, turning slightly to look back at him.
“Sure. So long as your notes are actually useful for anything.”
Azul slowed to a stop, still holding the umbrella above him. He kept his gaze on the other boy, his expression amused as he stared up at him from the bottom of the steps.
“I promise you,” he began, his tone confident, “that any of my notes are going to be extremely useful around this campus.”
Jamil held his stare, the corners of his lips curled into a smirk. He hummed, before his eyes trailed sideways to glance in the direction of the mirror chamber.
“Maybe you’re someone to take note of, then.”
“Most definitely,” Azul replied. There was a certain glimmer in his steely gaze, a spark of determination that Jamil found himself fixated on. “I can definitely assure you of that much.”
“Sure. Alright.” He looked back down at him, his expression amused. He brought his hands up to his hood again, pulling the dampened fabric down to settle it back over his shoulders. He shook his head to move his bangs away from his eyes, before his fingers brushed through the wet strands of his hair.
“… thanks again,” he murmured, pulling his ponytail to drape it over his shoulder, “for walking me here. And for sharing your umbrella with me.”
Azul smiled back up at him, his expression seeming to soften very slightly. He continued to stare at him, his gaze intent.
“Again… the pleasure was all mine, Jamil.”
Jamil nodded, turning to make his way into the corridor that was past the entrance way.
“See you around, Azul.”
He caught the motion of the other boy raising his hand to wave back at him. He lingered where he was standing, watching his back as he walked away from him.
“Goodbye, Jamil,” he called after him. “I’m looking forward to spending the next three years in your company.”
Jamil hummed, raising a hand to wave back at him.
“I’m hardly interesting enough for you to want to be in my company for that long,” he thought to himself.
With a shake of his head, he continued down the hallway. He was convinced that it would be the first - if not the last - time he’d ever be approached on campus by someone as notable as Azul Ashengrotto.