Private Finished Just an Obligation

Trahnael

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It was almost a dreadful fact that summer has come and days have started to get warmer and warmer. While a blue clear sky was definitely welcome and wanted, the sun beating down the academy wasn't.

Alaude had come to the academy in his thinnest t-shirt (and a pair of jeans) and even tied up his hair because of the heat. It didn't make things better that the only reason he was still in the office was that he was still waiting for the newcomer who was assigned to him to tour around. He had no idea why he was even given this kind of responsibility. Everyone who knew him was supposed to know he wasn't the best at dealing with people, yet this happened.

But he was a member of the faculty and he has decided to do this task wholeheartedly, whether or not he'd like the person he was currently waiting for. He most likely wouldn't, but it didn't change that Alaude really did want to complete his tasks and responsibilities as satisfactorily as possible.

He sat behind a desk where it would be easy to see someone enter the office door. It was almost time for their scheduled meet up, so he expected to see a new face come inside the room anytime now.
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SirCatfish

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Today was a beautiful day. Sun shining, sky blue, clouds sparse, birdsong audible. Well, almost every day was a beautiful day here. Distinctly unlike where he went to University, where it rained maybe every other day and there are about five days of sun in the entire year. Gotta love London.

Theo is supposed to be getting a tour of the campus today, just like what he got on his first day at the University, where he met David, his roommate. He had tried to reason with the school, as a tour seemed just a bit excessive, but he might meet new people. New people were always good. It just depended on what the type of person they were, and by the time you knew that they weren't a new person anymore.

Things almost felt familiar to him. Almost familiar.

He looked at the room number scribbled down on a sheet of paper, then looked at the door plaque. Two more rooms. He had 5 minutes until he was meant to meet, but being at a place early usually made a good impression. Theo found the appropriate door, knocked three times.

"Hello? I think this is where I'm meant to be for the campus tour." He called.

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Trahnael

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Their eyes instantly met, since Alaude's had been fixed on the entrance the entire time. The new face finally arrived, and right on time. At least tardiness wasn't an issue. "Theodore Bishop?" He had been given the new person's name at least. "If that's you, then yes."

The instructor stood up and made his way to the door. He stopped right in front of Theodore Bishop to get a closer and a better look and thought, mysteriously striking eyes aside, Theodore was a meh. At least he wasn't as irritating as a certain other guy. Alaude had an indifferent, almost offensively uncaring face on as he spoke. "You'll be stuck with me, so please bear with it for a while and don't stray. Don't hesitate to speak up and ask questions."

As Alaude paused, he glanced around the office and gestured for Bishop to also look around. "For starters we're in the Admissions Building, this office being one of the many around the campus. We won't be entering all offices, but I'll at least show you where they are. Shall we?"

He gestured towards the hallway and made his way out.

"Registrations, student assistance, general info, non-faculty offices, they're all here in this building. There's also a teacher's lounge where you may find faculty members if they're not in their departments," he explained as they walked.
 

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"Theo, actually. Most people call me Theo," Theo said, eyeing the person who's supposed to act as his guide. Long hair, strange eyes, bigger and taller than him, maybe about his age. Good looking. Nothing too special. A bit of a cold person. "You aren't going to tell me your name?"

The admissions office. This was familiar to Theo. He had sat there and talked to the staff and figured out a law program for himself. He nodded and didn't respond.

Well, the man certainly moved fast. Theo had to run a couple steps to catch up to him when he disappeared down the hallway. There was something off about the man, or at least the tour he gave. The explanations were, well, explanations, and informing, but it doesn't seem like he cared. That was it. The man didn't care.

Fair enough. To each their own right.

"Have you been here for a while?" Theo asked, attempting to start a conversation.

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Trahnael

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Theo was his name, he said? Alaude was going to stick to "Bishop". He was never on first name basis with anyone he wasn't close to after all, unless their first name was their only name. Alaude paused, giving Theo a quick but hard look before eventually revealing his name. "Alaude Cross. Technology and Engineering Department."

He started walking again after that, and had actually slowed down once they got out of the building. After all, it was hot outside and he really didn't want to be too sweaty by the time this was done. Sweating because of work was fine, but he never really liked the burning feeling of heat on his skin while he perspired. There was wind, so it wasn't completely hellish at least.

"I haven't been here long, actually," he answered, and he answered with only minimal amount of snobbishness in his tone. He even looked at the other while speaking. After all, he did say Theo could ask any question. That was maybe a mistake-- telling him he may ask any question, that is-- but Alaude was going to try his best not to take it back. "I've been here before, but I was gone for a year" he explained, "and I just got back recently."

They headed towards the big building before the set of stairs to the other parts of the academy. An entrance was open, so Alaude went inside and gestured for Theo to follow. Being inside was a good temporary escape from the sun, and the air inside the empty building was much cooler than outside. "Here's the auditorium, it's where general gatherings and events are held. So if there are assemblies... Which reminds me, what classes are you attending?"
 

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Alaude Cross. Although Cross was a surname Theo had heard dozens of times before, he certainly hadn't heard the name Alaude. It was a soft, rounded name. "Nice to meet you, Alaude." Theo said, smiling despite the hard look the other man gave him for no particular reason that Theo could discern.The word felt nice in his mouth.

Alaude slowed down outside, which gave Theo time to catch up and really look at the campus. For the last few days, he's mostly spent time skulking around in the woods on his own, or running lap upon lap on the track until he was too tired to go on. It was a school with a lot of scope, architecturally traditional, multiple buildings. All in all it reminded him somewhat of the fancy boarding schools parent sent their posh kids to, except warmer, bigger, and with all sorts of people instead of rich secondary-school kids.

"Ah, that's interesting. I suppose you like this place, then." Theo said. It was safe to assume that, right? He hoped he hadn't done something wrong.

Theo jogged up the stairs to the auditorium and looked around. It was a large room, and sounds echoed. Reminded him of large lecture halls. "Oh, I'm taking a law school program." He skipped on the details. Often people thought he was a snob when he did tell him about the Juris Doctor.

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Trahnael

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Law. Oh, well. Alaude knew a bit about how the world of law worked, but not how future lawyers go through their studies. But despite being intrigued somewhat, Alaude decided not to ask for the smaller details. He didn't care if there were details that Theo wanted to keep silent about, he wasn't going to ask. Instead he crossed the gigantic hall and exited through the opposite side.

The gardens were next. There were patches of all kinds of flowers and bushes and some trees, and benches rested here in there for people to use. Alaude gestured at them. "We're around the lower middle area of the campus. This is our largest garden, though there are many others around. Feel free to stay here for as long as you want anytime, as long as you don't mess with the plants."

He pointed at the stables nearby. "Stables are there. You must file some paperwork for the admins if you wish to borrow a horse or to use the facilities. And next..."

Next... Alaude heaved a sigh as they headed towards the elementary and high school area. "Please do address me as Mr. Cross, Mr. Bishop," he said. "To be honest to you l, I don't like being on first name basis with someone I don't even know."
 
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SirCatfish

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The man didn't make a comment on his studies, which relieved him slightly. To be frank, Theo didn't like compliments. He didn't get much when he was young. Consequentially, it made him a bit uncomfortable now to be complimented on his achievements.

They stepped out into the gardens, flowery and not completely unlike what he's seen before. Aside from the necessary remarks, Alaude was an unusually quiet man. Not that it exactly unsettled Theo, but under his own impression people who are giving tours are supposed to be warm and friendly. Well, he probably didn't sign up for it then.

There are stables. Now that was new. Theo was tempted to go over and just look at the horses - He's only seen a couple in his life - but decided not to stray from the tour at the moment.

"Oh, dear." Theo made a face that looked like an uncomfortable smile. He was usually good with these things like names, but sometimes he forgets. "I'm sorry about that. Didn't realise... Didn't mean to come off as rude, Mr. Cross."
 

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It seemed as if Alaude tripped on something, a bump on the ground or maybe his own foot, when Theo apologized. He'd pretend he tripped on something. And he'd keep it a secret forever that he was actually thrown off by Theo's way of apologizing.

He'd usually brush off apologies like that. He usually didn't care because the reason for apologies were usually something he didn't want to deal with anyway, but this time... this time the person apologizing had such a gentle aura around him and Alaude couldn't help but feel that Theo's words were honest.

It wasn't as if Alaude was wrong... right? It was fine to point it out that he was uncomfortable with first names, right? Then why did he feel like a bad guy? Why did the situation seem like the right response was supposed to be, "it's fine, you weren't rude, I just needed to make it clear"?

Fuck that, Alaude told himself. And he went on as if nothing happened, as if he didn't mess up his footing, as if Theo hadn't said anything about it. He continued to walk until just before the elementary and high school territory and made a brief detour towards the pools. He stood in one side and watched the swimmers, before turning to Theo, now completely composed behind his unfriendly mask once again. "So, do you swim? As far as I know the pools are open to everyone, though the sports clubs especially Swimming are of course top priority."

He'd love to be in the water, actually. The sun above their heads was hot and sweat was beginning to form around his forehead. Some pools and some of the areas around them were shaded, so Alaude moved towards one of those areas.

He didn't speak. He just walked and stopped and stood and watched, and while it seemed as if he didn't care whether they had a conversation or not, he actually hoped Theo would talk more. It was so awkward, and honestly some of his sweat came from his anxiety about it. But he'll never admit it. Nobody must ever know how he really thought.
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SirCatfish

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Theo resisted the immediate reflex of offering a hand to help. Mr. Cross might not be a fan of physical contact. He didn't seem like a very touchy guy. Then he frowned a little. It was clear that Mr. Cross - didn't trip over anything. The patch of ground was particularly smooth. Maybe his apology had used the wrong words? Maybe he was overlooking something? Or maybe it's just because that he's used to overthinking.

"Be careful." He said gently, following behind Mr. Cross as they approached the buildings.

There was a pool with swimmers inside, enjoying the water in this warm weather. Theo smiled. This wasn't much of a surprise, but it's still a pleasant thing to have. Swimming in a pool is extremely different from swimming in a lake or a river, but at least it was something. He followed Mr. Cross to the shaded area then, being glad to be away from the sun for a little bit. It wasn't necessarily too hot, just a little bit uncomfortable.

"Yes, I swim," he had been on the swimming team at his university, mostly just local competitions. Nothing like the sort that David did - Shit. Right. No more of that. He cleared his throat and tried again. "I also did kayaking a lot. Obviously, a pool would not be a good place to do that." He smiled. It probably looked forced, but there was an attempt.



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