Chapter 2: Two
Malor Jaksil was not, by any means, popular.
He was a small boy, only about five foot five. He had long black, half of it typically pulled back in a bun. His skin was a dark olive, and he had chestnut eyes. Throughout Mal's entire life, he had always been scrawny, small, and deathly quiet. Too quick to blush, too nervous to hold a conversation with a stranger for more than two sentences, he was bullied easily.
"Mal, you need to go talk to the Head and tell him about your transfer." His closest -and only- friend, Lequetia said.
Mal ducked his head. "Could you?"
Lequetia sighed. "Mally, you need to tell him yourself. He won't be mad. In fact, he'll probably be proud of you. You've been elected to help tend to the Crescent Tower! You get to go spend your life working in the library and reading and teaching! That job was basically made for you, honey."
Mal nervously pulled on a strand of his hair. "I guess..."
"Come on, go put that scrawny figure to use." She nudged him playfully.
He didn't reveal his secret.
Without telling anyone, Mal had been training in sword fighting and the like his entire life. Ever since he was old enough not to tumble over from the weight, he had held a sword or knife and bow in his hand. He was far more confident with swords than with people, that was for sure.
He nodded and fidgeted nervously with his hands as he walked up to the desk where the Head sat. The Head oversaw every person that lived and worked as an apprentice in the Green Wing of the Kingdom.
"Excuse me, umm, Head..." Mal practically whispered.
The Head, a short woman with huge glasses and mousy brown hair, looked up at him. "Mal. Yes?"
"I've been, umm, transferred to, uh, the Crescent Tower... and I just, uh, wanted to, um, tell you." Mal mumbled.
After years of looking after Mal, the Head knew what he was saying. "That's excellent news, Mal. Make sure to do a double-check of all of your things before you depart."
Mal nodded nervously, and practically sprinted away. That went pretty well, all things considered.
Lequetia waited for him next to the door of his room.
"I did it." Mal said quietly.
Lequetia grinned. "Excellent. Now, let's see if you forgot anything."
⚔
Mal stood inside his new quarters in the Tower.
Lequetia had helped him move, and smiled as she departed. Mal had been nervously pacing his floor since then. Knowing his tendencies, he probably wouldn't make any new friends any time soon. Hopefully, his old bullies weren't known here.
It would be rather refreshing if they weren't.
It was just before dawn. Lequetia had stayed up extra late to help him move. All things considered, the Tower wasn't very far from the Green Wing. Mal could visit Lequetia whenever he wanted to. He thought fondly of his childhood friend, with her brown hair and simple pixie cut, and her dark green eyes. She was his exact opposite personality-wise. Maybe that's why they got along so well.
Mal was tired.
After another ten minutes of pacing, he finally went to lay down on his new bed.
His quarters were a lot larger than his old ones. When you first opened the door to these, there was a small sitting room, and a hallway directly across. One door in the hall led to a bathroom, and at the end was his kitchen. Down another hallway vertical to the sitting room was his bedroom, with a full bathroom attached to it. It was already pre-furnished, which drastically helped save Mal's wallet.
All in all, it was incredible.
He was still nervous about his first day in the Tower, but for now, he should just sleep.
Before he could, there was a knock on his door.
Standing, Mal walked over to his door and opened it with a yawn. An unfamiliar person stood there. It was a boy a good seven inches taller than him, so much so that he had to raise his head to look them in the eyes. They had soft brown eyes and tousled blonde hair.
"Hi! Are you the new addition? Malor?"
Mal, feeling particularly small, nodded.
They grinned broadly. "Hi! I'm Juvie."
Mal gave a small smile. "Hi."
"Are you going to get dressed? The day starts soon." Juvie asked.
Mal blinked. This early?
He was too nervous to admit he didn't know. "Yeah, I am. Wanna come in?"
"Sure." Juvie said, and Mal moved aside to let him in. He sat down on Mal's couch, and stared at a painting on the wall.
Mal quickly ran to his room, and threw on the uniform they had given him. It was a white button-up tucked into slacks, and a raven cloak to go over it. On the back of cloak was a crescent moon.
Mal's hair was still half up in a bun, so he just left it like that, quickly brushing his hair before running back out to join Juvie.
The boy was absently staring at the wall, seemingly deep in thought.
"Juvie?" Mal almost whispered.
The boy's head whipped up, making Mal jump. He smiled. "Good, you're dressed. Let's run and grab breakfast."
Mal followed Juvie through the halls of white marble floors and grey plaster walls, taking a few turns and passing more doors. They went up a couple of flights, and soon they were in the cafeteria. It was a wide space with the same walls and floors as the halls, but the ceiling was comprised of different colored stained glass panes, casting odd lighting over everyone.
Juvie grabbed a plate from a table in the front, handing one to Mal. It had some kind of soup on it, that looked rather unappetizing.
Juvie laughed at Mal's expression. "Chill, Malor. It's better than it looks. Chicken noodle."
Mal didn't drop the expression as they sat at one of the long, stone tables. There were many different people, but two of them in particular turned to Juvie as he sat. They were two girls, and were practically identical. They both had long raven hair pulled back in a high ponytail, grey eyes, and light olive skin.
"Hey Juvie. Who's the new?" The one on the right asked.
Juvie smiled. "This is Malor. Just got here last night."
Mal gave a smile, staring at the table. "You can just call me Mal."
Juvie laughed and started to say something.
A blood-curdling scream split the air. Mal practically fell off of his seat. The entire cafeteria fell silent as another one sounded.
Mal's face was pale, and his eyes were wide.
"Mal, calm down. It's nothing to worry about." Juvie said with a small wave.
"What was that?" Mal managed to say.
"The lady at the top of the tower. She screams every morning. It's rather annoying, honestly." One of the twins said with an eye roll.
"No one's ever seen her, though." The other twin added.
Mal was about to say something, when another one echoed through the cafeteria.
The first twin sighed. "She's awful loud this morning. Normally it's only one and done. She must be feeling extra emotional."
"It sounds like she's scared." Mal said nervously.
"It's nothing to worry about. We're safe down here." Juvie misinterpreted.
"I guess..." Mal trailed off.
"Where are you from?" Juvie asked.
"The Green Wing." Mal said quietly.
"Woah, I heard that's the most important wing. You must be good at what you do." The twin on the right said.
Mal nodded, staring at a groove in the stone table.
"Oh, I'm Alice." The twin on the right said.
"And I'm Kendal." The twin on the left said.
Mal knew that wouldn't help him identify them any better, but he still nodded.
Juvie started another question. "How old ar-"
This scream was so loud it shattered every glass thing in the Tower simultaneously. Shards hit the floor as the lights went out.
Mal was absolutely terrified.
"This hasn't happened before..." Juvie said nervously.
Wind and rain from the darkness outside flew into the cafeteria, whipping up the shards and flinging them everywhere. There were a couple quieter screams, but nothing like the one that just destroyed glass.
And finally, "ATTICUS!"
The name reverberated off of every surface in the cafeteria. Everyone covered their ears, and it seemed to echo into the whole kingdom.
Juvie was panting from the eardrum-shattering yell. "That hasn't happened before."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone