- Whisperpeak Academy for Wayward Dragons - Ch.15 P.3 - Dying Tear

Instructions

(+)dedication that went into it. Adrian slowly ambled down the short length while Oliver and I walked to the first door. A lot of the rooms were simply storage. Shortie, being the clever girl she was, programmed some rooms to act like nothing but realistic holograms, and it took a couple bursts of adrenaline and walking into walls for us to realize the real bedrooms would be at the very end. Adrian had already found his. It was a misty, dream-like blue, the bed simple and warm-looking, adorned by no more but a thick strip of bear pelt. A few gray lights illuminated the space, but that was all I could see through the crack of his door. I heard the distant sound of the shower, and now-familiar splats of earthy water. Adrian had been pretty out of it recently; he needed that shower. The door adjacent to Adrian's was wide open; that was where Oliver was. I could already tell it was his. Large-leafed ivy spilled around the doorframe and a golden expanse of light poured through a solar lamp. I walked to his side and asked, "Can we share?" He rolled his eyes and did a quick spell that sent our bare belongings scattering across the room. With a snap of his fingers, a suitcase made of stems filled with my stuff and leaped into my open hands. "Find your own room first, Princess. Maybe then I'll consider a sleepover with you." Ignoring the mocking in his voice, I paced outside and found my quarters. And, wow. This area was an elegant mix of dark purple, white, and periwinkle, the bed a slim sheet of wood absolutely choked in blankets, attached to chains that held it a bit off the ground. When I sank into it, it swung gently. Flickering string lights shined around a cracked mirror and the ground beneath the fluffy circular carpet was glamorous marble. I didn't care about its flaws, or the fact small patches of ground were completely bare and teeming with dirt. The only thing I could say was — "I love it." — around my handful of pillows. Oliver stood patiently in my doorway, observing with a smirk on his face. "What?" I challenged, springing up. "It's just nice to see you content." I padded up to him and said hopefully, "I'd be even more content with a roommate." "Fine. First, I wanna check in with the rest of the team first. Just to feel established." I followed him through the tight corridors until we bumped into a room lacking of much light. A gorgeous wall of succulents bloomed with various glowing antennas, and the walls were a soft, carvable material resembling clay. One of the walls took advantage of its compact sponge. The whole thing was scratched and dented in patterns that looked like one giant map, neat handwriting doodled around it. A large mahogany table had the same sculpted map inked onto proper paper. Oliver was already turning to walk out when the dressy silhouette of Henry ducked from behind some crates. "Hey! I was just finishing up with the map model of Oceane's base. Figured I'd contribute my own little thing since Alex and his friends made the whole building." He ran a hand over the trimmed peak of his crew cut and beckoned to the lower level of the carved base model. "I've been contemplating where to aim our raid. I'm thinking underground would be quicker and smarter in terms of avoiding military. Then again, Oceane's in Ius Principum's grasp. She's already hypersensitive to foreign personnel in her space, and the Ius takeover probably has her even more alert. One wrong move and they'll command for her to self-destruct the whole city or something." Tapping his fingers nervously against the wood, he blurted, "Ah. Sorry for rambling. I see that look on your face. No worries, I'm handling the smart stuff." I dipped my head in acknowledgement and basically ran out with Oliver. We wandered through the tunnel that led us here, this time with the whirring and clicking of walls as they parted for us. We were dismayed to find the canal rougher than before, splashing noisily against the walls and teetering onto the platform that we stood on. One step forward, however, and the waves were completely silenced. Genius. Wandering down the eerie concrete tunnel, we found the stone segment and followed it to the mouth of the village. We decided to take a small detour, tracing each populated townhouse in our minds. "What are you hoping to find?" I questioned, pausing to fiddle with one of the pretty reeds sticking out of the stream. "Hm. I'd like to see the fancy rescue people Henry released. But, I mean, it's not my main concern." He grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze. "Things are gonna go fine now that my little Infinity girl is back." I giggled at his adoring tone and mumbled, "Stop saying it like that." "Hah, why, Princess?" Gosh. The way his laugh intensified his accent. It made me blush every time. "Because-" after a few seconds, I gave up and buried my head in his shoulder. "Whatever." We walked our way to the Resistance center and ope(+)