Chapter Text
Silver and Sebek rarely ever fought. Sure, they often had their disagreements and arguments, but they never really fought. Whenever the pair argued, it was often about petty things where neither of their words carried much heat. But this time, not only were their words filled with venom, their brutal comments were accompanied by equally brutal punches.
Lilia couldn’t help but frown as he let his disapproving gaze wander over the two boys. It had taken him by surprise just how nasty the words spat between them were. They had known each other for long enough that each jab was tailored to cut deep, but not enough to understand why that was so. He knew he probably should have intervened before Yuu had gotten hurt, but the shock from hearing the venom in their insults had completely stunned him.
Lilia sighed as the boys refused to meet his gaze, both resolutely staring at the infirmary floor. He wasn’t quite sure if the pair were ashamed because they had been fighting or merely because he had caught them. He briefly thanked the Seven that Malleus hadn’t been with him at the time.
“So would you kids like to explain yourselves?”
~~~
Silver had not been having a good day. Drained, he slumped down against a tree. He closed his eyes, finally letting himself relax. A persistent headache throbbed at the back of his head, only now becoming duller as he distanced himself from the noisy, bustling crowds of students. He knew he only had about half an hour before he had to head to the Diasomnia training grounds for sparring practice, but he couldn’t bring himself to get up from his comfortable position. It was one of the rare times that he did not look forward to training. All he could feel was an overwhelming sense of exhaustion.
His morning hadn’t started off well. He’d woken up late, nearly having to forgo breakfast due to the lack of time. Normally, this wouldn’t have been too much of an issue, but he had made the mistake of entering the dorm kitchens to get some fruit. Unfortunately for him, a certain someone had already gotten there before him. A certain someone who should really be banned from the kitchens. Lilia had insisted that he eat the breakfast he had prepared, insisting it was more nutritious than a single apple. Lilia had claimed he made a strawberry miso soup with raisins, tomato ketchup, and chocolate malt balls. All Silver could identify in the oddly thick sludge were the dubious chunks of brown which he really hoped were malt balls. Still, he didn’t have the heart to push away the food his adoptive father made. As he rushed to the school bathroom afterwards, he wondered if he should have just slept in a little bit longer and skipped breakfast altogether.
After emptying the contents of his stomach, he had wearily made his way to the alchemy classroom. He had arrived a bit later than the other students due to his little digestion issue, meaning that most of his classmates had already partnered up. As a result, he ended up getting paired with Kalim al-Asim, one of the only other students arriving later than him. Now, Silver liked Kalim well enough, despite his unbounded energy and overly sunny personality. However, they weren't exactly the best match-up when it came to schoolwork, especially in a class that required high levels of attentiveness. Kalim’s lack of attention span and Silver’s lethargic nature did not make for a good combination when one was working on highly volatile potions. This quickly became evident to Professor Crewel when their fire-resistance potion turned into a fiery explosion, evaporated into noxious gas, and became sentient slime within the three attempts they had at the assignment. Silver was not looking forward to the remedials he had to take the next day.
He had then naively thought that he might get a bit of reprieve in flying class. It was one of his favorite classes, after all, and he certainly excelled at it. It wasn’t horse riding, but Silver still highly enjoyed flitting through the sky and zooming through the clouds. He liked to think that he was one of the best flyers in his class, even if he was nowhere near Riddle or Lilia’s level. Well, for better or worse, Coach Vargas seemed to think so too because he had saddled him with tutoring Azul. Usually that task would fall to Jamil, but he already had his hands full with Kalim’s heart-stopping impulses. Seeing that, the coach seemed to have decided that he would become his next victim. Now, Silver wouldn’t mind a joint class with 2C in any other subject, but spending hours babysitting a stubborn and terrified merfolk would grate on anyone’s nerves. It didn’t help that the coach pulled one of his infamous “I won’t let you leave until you make progress” stunts and that Azul insisted he wouldn’t accept help if he didn’t hear a price upfront for it.
Eventually, he had managed to get the Octavinelle boy to listen to him, but by then, lunch had already mostly gone by. There was barely any time to eat, and at that hour, the cafeteria would have already put away all the food. He had thought it wouldn’t be too much of a detour to grab a snack from Sam’s shop before heading to his next class. However, it had completely slipped his mind that Sam was having a massive discount sale that day, only remembering when he saw the crowd of chaos spilling out from the shack. He had meant to quickly turn tail and just head to the classrooms upon nearing, but the mayhem made it difficult to back out. Instead, he had gotten crushed by the stampede of students all violently clambering to get to the shop. His ribs still ached from where he had gotten elbowed and his shins had turned a bruising blue from all the kicking. He barely made it on time to class.
It was just his luck that the next class was magical history. He was hungry, tired, and aching in a class that required extreme willpower to endure. All in all, not an ideal situation to be in. Lucius meowed at him in what he thought might be concern (it was hard to tell; the cat always sounded so monotonous), but there was no time to dwell on it as Professor Trein had immediately began delving into the details of the Great War. As time passed, it got harder and harder to stay awake. He thought perhaps Lucius would have some mercy and not tattle on him, but he had still awoken to the harsh reprimand of his Professor. He’d ended up having to write a 4-page extended essay on that day’s lesson as punishment.
He had thought the string of bad luck would end as soon as the school day did, but the universe seemed to have had other plans for him. Upon stepping out of Professor Trein’s classroom, he saw a blur of black, red and gray dash down the hallways. It was Grim, Yuu, and 2 Heartslabyuul first years all yelling at the other students to run or get out of the way. He had been rightfully puzzled until he saw a flock of angry, multicolored flamingos flying straight towards him. Alarmed, he quickly picked up his pace to match the other students' sprint. As it turned out, the first years had accidentally forgotten to lock the flamingo cages during cleaning and they ended up running loose. Grim seemed to have angered them beforehand because the moment they were free they had dived straight for him. Now unfortunately involved, Silver had to help them fix everything before Headmaster Crowley and Dorm Leader Rosehearts found out. Ah, the curses of being a good upperclassman.
Needless to say, by the time the flamingos were back where they belonged, Silver was completely dead on his feet. He hadn’t meant to fall sleep when he had decided to sit in his favorite clearing, but he felt that for once, his drowsiness was justified. So for those few blissful moments, he let himself succumb to the comforting pull of dark, silent unconsciousness. It wouldn't hurt to rest for just for a couple of minutes…
~~~
Sebek tapped his feet impatiently as he glanced up at the clock. It was 5 past 5. Silver was 5 minutes late to sparring practice. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, drumming his fingers agitatedly as he continued to wait. A member of the royal guard should always make a point to be punctual! More so, they should not skip out on any form of training to better themselves in their service to Wakasama! Did Silver not learn the bare basics!?
Lilia seemed unconcerned by the tardiness, far too busy with the new training dummy he had gotten from the Shrouds. He seemed absolutely delighted at the strange new plaything, tinkering with it as he tried to pinpoint all of its functions.
Sebek waited for another 15 minutes in near silence, the only sound in the hall being Lilia’s approving hums and the clattering of metal. The rhythmic clanking only made his growing irritation worse.
“Lilia-sama, I am going to go look for Silver!” he announced loudly.
Lilia gave him a non-committal “yes, yes,” before resuming his work. Or from what he could see, simply poke around the foreign machinery. Sebek deemed the permission sufficient and started walking briskly in the direction of the mirror.
Knowing Silver, Sebek was sure he would be off somewhere quiet to sleep. The thought made him grit his teeth. His fellow guardsman was surely capable, and he was man enough to admit that. However, his inability to apply himself more often and his tendency to slack off made him less than worthy to be one of Wakasama’s personal guards. Did he not understand how important his position was? Did he not understand what it meant to be chosen to be royal guard?
Perhaps Silver took it all for granted. He was Lilia-sama’s ward after all, and had grown up in close proximity with the great Wakasama. It was a near sure thing that he would be raised to become one of the royal guards. He often wondered if Silver was silently laughing at Sebek’s want for recognition, something Silver never really had to work for when it came to the prince and his advisor. Or if he thought it pitiful how hard Sebek worked simply because he himself never had to do much to impress them. It was a vicious cycle of idle thought and it didn't take long for Sebek to find himself more irritated and wound up than before.
Lost in his thoughts, Sebek nearly tripped over the small rabbit. He startled at the loud squeak, quickly hopping back as he realized he had nearly flattened the small creature. He opened his mouth to apologize to it, but watching the fear in its eyes made him hesitate. All animals seemed to be terrified of him, and that rabbit was no exception. The rabbit scrambled away in fright, quickly disappearing into the trees of the nearby forest. He tried to push away how much it stung, focusing more on the fact that there was a rabbit lying around where there shouldn’t be any. Random woodland creatures always meant that he was nearby. Looking further ahead, he finally found the person he had been searching for. Right in front of him several meters away was Silver, fast asleep under the large tree surrounded by a variety of small woodland critters. Sebek wasn’t surprised, nor was he amused.
“OI SILVER! WAKE UP!”
All of the animals surrounding him scattered, startled by the noise. They all rushed in the direction of the forest, once again far away from Sebek. Silver jolted awake as well, his fight or flight reflexes kicking in. Sebek watched unfazed as he tried to reach for his nonexistent sword. At least his senses hadn’t dulled. Upon realizing that there was no immediate threat, Silver narrowed his eyes.
“Was that really necessary, Sebek?”
~~~
The headache from before his nap came back full force as Sebek began berating him for his negligence. It didn’t help that he had slept in an awkward position, making his already tired body ache even more. He winced at the crick in his neck.
“You are late for training! Are you not taking your duties seriously?!”
Silver flinched at the volume, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to lessen the throbbing pain at the back of his head.
“Lower your voice, I’m right here.”
Silver wasn’t sure if Sebek just didn’t hear him or if he chose to ignore him, because the yelling had not decreased a single decibel. It was the same old lecture, and normally he would just tune it out until Sebek felt like he’d scolded him enough. But at that moment, even if Silver wanted to listen (which he didn’t), all he could focus on was the agonizing pounding in his head.
“Shut up.”
That seemed to do the trick. Sebek immediately cut off mid-sentence in shock, allowing Silver 3 seconds of sweet, silent reprieve. Then the yelling came back at twice the volume.
“HOW DARE YOU TELL ME TO SHUT UP?! DO YOU NOT UNDERSTA-“
“Sebek, for Seven’s sake please shut the hell up,” he growled, still trying to keep the pain at bay. “Just this once.”
As he should have expected, Sebek paid no mind to his words. His eyes blazed in anger.
“I COME ALL THIS WAY TO LOOK FOR YOU SO YOU WOULD NOT DISAPPOINT WAKASAMA AND YOU REFUSE TO LISTEN?! I TELL YOU TIME AND TIME AGAIN TO NOT LAZE AROUND AND TO TAKE YOUR DUTIES SERIOUSLY! DO YOU EVEN CARE ABOUT YOUR JOB?!”
Silver would admit that his word choice was probably not the best, especially with the explosive first year. But at that moment, his only priority was to make everything quiet. He wasn’t exactly in the right state of mind to be thoughtful, and he didn’t have the energy to maintain his brain to mouth filter. He found that right then and there, he was at the end of his limit.
“Look,” Silver snapped. “Cut that high and mighty crap you’re spouting. You talk as if Father and I don’t have to clean up your own messes. Get off your high horse and just be quiet until we get to the dorms.”
Sebek spluttered a bit before regaining his composure. “AT LEAST I TRY! ALL YOU SEEM TO DO IS NAP! DOES GUARDING WAKASAMA MEAN SO LITTLE TO YOU THAT YOU CAN AFFORD TO SLEEP ON THE JOB?! ARE YOU SO INCOMPETENT THAT YOU CANNOT REMAIN AWAKE?”
Sebek would often scold him for falling asleep, so that was nothing new. However, he would usually only tell him off before going on a rant about Wakasama’s kindness and greatness for forgiving him. The focus had always been Malleus, so Silver could easily let it fade into background noise. But this time, he’d actually questioned his abilities and loyalties.
Silver wasn’t sure if the words were meant to cut or if they were simply what Sebek thought, but they still hurt. He knew his tendency to suddenly fall asleep was less than ideal, and he didn't know why it kept happening. He had wondered the exact same thing Sebek brought up: if he really couldn't care enough to stay awake for just a bit longer. He hadn’t been expecting to hear his own concerns repeated back to him. Hearing the words he had only heard in the deepest darkest corners of his mind thrown in his face made him defensive.
“Incompetent? You challenge me time and time again to a variety of different skills. Yet it seems to me that you haven’t been able to beat me a single time, have you? If that makes me incompetent, what does that make you?”
Sebek’s eyes glinted dangerously, his pointy teeth bared. Silver smirked internally.
“Oops, touched a nerve there, didn’t I?”
He knew subconsciously that he was being rather malicious, but in his foul mood, he couldn’t bring himself to care.
“YOU ARE ONLY PART OF THE ROYAL GUARD BECAUSE LILIA-SAMA PICKED YOU UP OUT OF SOME DITCH OUT OF THE KINDNESS OF HIS HEART. HE TRULY IS SELFLESS FOR TAKING CARE OF SUCH AN UNRELIABLE, UNWANTED PERSON!”
He was willing to stoop so low as to poke at his abandonment now is he? Silver sneered. “At least I didn’t have to kiss ass to raise up the ranks. “Oh Lilia-sama, you are so wise! Oh the great Wakasama, I grovel at your feet!””
“IT WOULD DO YOU SOME GOOD TO SHOW MORE RESPECT TO THE PEOPLE THAT ACTUALLY PUT UP WITH YOUR SORRY STATE! SOMETHING MORE BEFITTING OF A LOWLY HUMAN!”
“You say that as if you weren’t one yourself,” Silver scoffed.
“BECAUSE I AM NOT!”
“Ah yes, not human and not fae. How unfortunate for you to be caught up between two unforgiving worlds. Never really fitti-”
Silver knew provoking a hot-tempered person wasn’t quite the best idea. Especially when said person is also extremely strong. It was also highly counterproductive to his goal of getting some peace and quiet. Still, the little devil on his shoulder seemed to be having a field day, egging him on to continue his verbal beating. So when Sebek’s fist collided with his cheek, he knew it had only been a matter of time.
Despite seeing it coming, Silver was still unable to block the blow and stumbled back a couple of steps. His headache was worse than ever now, but there wasn’t much he could do about that with the way the situation escalated. In a sudden movement, Sebek rushed forward and grabbed at Silver’s uniform lapels, snarling as he pulled him closer.
“That was uncalled for.”
Silver nearly flinched at how icy cold Sebek’s voice sounded. It was quiet, a normal speaking volume, which only made it all the more eerie. Belatedly, Silver realized he might have pushed a little too far. He had poked and prodded a little too hard at a sleeping crocodile, but it was too late to regret it now.
Silver took advantage of their close proximity to bash Sebek’s head with his own. It wasn’t the best move, as his head began screaming in pain, but it did make the taller boy stumble and drop him. The next time their eyes met, Silver knew that this was going to become an all-out brawl.
“So,” he spat. “What are you going to do about it?”
Sebek cracked his knuckles. “I’ll make you regret it.”
~~~
Yuu sighed as Ace and Deuce argued behind him. They had only just barely managed to get the flamingoes back before Riddle returned from the dorm leader meeting. Thank the 7 that Silver-senpai had been willing to lend a hand. Yuu suspected that Riddle knew something about it, with the way he kept glaring at his troublemaking underclassmen, but fortunately for them, he didn’t confront them on it. Riddle had been a lot more forgiving since his Overblot episode, but Yuu wasn’t going to push his luck.
It was game night for the first years, so they were all headed to Ramshackle Dorm. Jack and Epel had promised to meet them after their workout session, and Yuu hoped they hadn’t been waiting for too long. The flamingo incident really delayed them. He sighed. If only Ace and Deuce could stay out of trouble for just one day.
They were walking through the hall of mirrors when they bumped into a familiar face.
“Oh, Lilia-senpai!” Yuu greeted, waving his hand at the small senior.
Lilia grinned back. “Yuu! Ace, Deuce, Grim! What brings you here?”
“It’s game night! We’re playing board games at Ramshackle Dorm,” Deuce explained excitedly.
Lilia let out an amused chuckle. “Ohoho? That sounds like fun!”
“It is,” he agreed. “It’s a shame Sebek can’t join us because of training…”
“Speaking of which,” Yuu piped up. “Why are you here, Lilia-senpai? Aren’t you overseeing Sebek’s training?”
Lilia hummed. “Well, you can’t exactly oversee training when nobody is training right? Sebek went off to find Silver a while ago and hasn’t returned,” he explained.
Yuu tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Well, we’re walking in the direction of Ramshackle Dorm. Perhaps they are in the clearing nearby where Silver likes to sleep?”
Lilia smiled. “It’s worth a shot. Lead the way.”
The walk wasn’t particularly far, but it felt a lot more so when all Ace, Deuce, and Grim did was bicker. Lilia seemed to find amusement in their petty arguments.
“For the last time, Deuce,” Yuu groaned. “We are not playing Jungle Speed. Or Twister. The last thing we need is an infirmary visit.”
“Aw, but Yuu!” he pleaded. “Last time was just a fluke! I didn’t think Epel would actually bite!”
“You’ve gotta admit that watching Jack absolutely destroy Ace’s fingers for the totem was kinda funny,” Grim snickered.
“Uh I think there are some other people there that might need an infirmary visit.”
Puzzled, Yuu turned in the direction Ace was pointing towards. He balked at the sight.
“I-is that Sebek and Silver?!”
“Those are the last two people I’d expect to see duking it out,” Ace murmured, stunned.
It was such an odd sight that all 4 students (and Grim) could only watch in astonishment for a few long moments. It took watching a side kick from Silver land heavily on Sebek’s side to snap Yuu out of his stupor.
“Guys, we have to stop them!”
“Aw hell no!” Ace yelped. “They’d both bash our brains out!”
“C’mon Ace!” Deuce growled. “We can’t leave this alone!”
Lilia was still unresponsive, as if his brain was still trying to catch up with everything happening. If Yuu wasn’t worried before, he really was now.
Making an executive decision, Yuu began running in the direction of the two Diasomnia students, followed by Deuce, who was dragging Ace behind him. It took a few more moments before Lilia followed suit. As Yuu approached, he could actually hear what the two were talking about. He grimaced at the deliberately cruel and nasty words. Lilia’s fae hearing must have picked them up earlier. No wonder he was so shocked. Yuu had never seen Silver lose his temper before, nor Sebek speak with such hostility, but now he wondered if Lilia hadn’t either.
“Sebek, Silver!”
The two boys paid him no mind, continuing their onslaught of attacks on each other. Lilia seemed to want to intervene, but with every new insult, Yuu could see the older student flinch. Deuce had rushed up to try and restrain Sebek while Ace tried his best to hold back Silver, but Yuu could tell it was a futile endeavor. In a last-ditch attempt to stop things from escalating further, Yuu stepped in between them.
In hindsight, it was probably a terrible idea to step right in between two very strong, very angry boys who only seemed to want to talk with their fists. Yuu might have been athletic enough, but he wasn't nearly as fit and powerful as Sebek and Silver were. And with how frazzled he was, it was only a matter of time before an accident happened. At the same exact moment, Silver’s fist collided with his stomach as Sebek’s foot caught him right at the back of his knees. Upon contact, he crumpled to the ground in a heap, wheezing as the air was taken right out of his lungs.
“YUU!”
The realization that Silver and Sebek had hit Yuu instead of each other seemed to snap them out of their rage induced tunnel vision. They both froze, horror and regret slowly dawning on their faces. Ace and Deuce let go of them both in favor of rushing to Yuu’s aid, fretting over his injury.
“I think that’s enough, boys.”
Yuu didn’t think it was possible, but the sound of Lilia’s voice made them stiffen up even more. Lilia’s voice was deceptively calm, but he could sense the underlying chill thinly veiled beneath the words.
“Let’s go and head to the infirmary now, shall we? Poor Yuu’s injuries must be treated,” he said pleasantly, joining Ace and Deuce in helping Yuu to his feet.
Yuu coughed slightly. “Don’t worry I’m fi-“
Lilia’s gripped his arm slightly tighter. Yuu got the hint to be quiet. Lilia smiled coldly at the now silent boys. Yuu shared a glance with Ace and Deuce.
“Let us be off then!”
~~~
10 minutes later, Lilia watched as Sebek and Silver shuffled uncomfortably under his calculating stare. Yuu hadn’t suffered any lasting damage, thanks to his strong physique, so he had merely grabbed an ice pack and excused himself. Ace and Deuce didn’t waste a single second booking it out of the room.
“Well?” Lilia prompted, eyes flitting between the two boys. “What brought on such unusual behavior from the two of you?”
It was silent for a few more heartbeats before Silver spoke up.
“I apologize, Father. It was my fault. It is no excuse, but I was in a poor mood when Sebek found me and I took it out on him. I said some rather unkind things,” he murmured.
Lilia frowned. Unkind was an understatement. He had never heard such biting words from either one of his students. Whatever had happened to Silver earlier in the day must have really worn down on his near infinite patience and broken his usual easygoing nature. Still, the boys were often able to resolve things semi-peacefully, no matter the issue at hand. It was troubling that it became physical. “And it escalated into a fist fight?”
“Forgive me Lilia-sama! I lost my composure! I greatly apologize for my lack of self-control and showing behavior unbecoming of a royal guard!” Sebek tried to bow, before wincing from his injuries.
“I’m not the one either of you should be apologizing to,” Lilia pointed out, helping Sebek settle back into the chair as he handed him a healing potion.
His frown deepened as Sebek and Silver refused to meet each other’s eyes.
“I apologize for saying such horrible things, Sebek,” Silver said quietly.
Sebek harrumphed. “I also apologize for being so callous in return. Still, you should not have been sleeping on the job. This could have been avoided otherwise.”
“I already told you it was an accident. There was no need for you to be so rude.”
“I only spoke the truth. And if it is rudeness you are concerned about, it was you who told me to, as you put it, shut up. ”
“I already apologized didn’t I? And you were aggravating my headache with your blabbering.”
“How dare-“
Lilia coughed, interrupting the little spat. He could feel the antagonistic prickle between the pair and he had a feeling if he didn’t step in, their argument would re-escalate.
He saw Silver jump, as if he had forgotten that Lilia was still there. From his guilty look, it seemed like Sebek had as well. At the reminder that he was listening, they both looked down shamefully, slumping slightly in their chairs.
“It seems you boys have a lot of pent-up emotions.”
Lilia’s voice was gentle, but firm. “I can’t say I’m not disappointed with the way you handled this, but you’re both still young. You both want to be understood but you do not seek to first understand. Altercations in the future may or may not happen, but as it stands, you both are ticking time bombs.”
The boys remained silent.
“Perhaps you would both benefit in spending more time with each other.”
“We already do our duties together,” Silver piped up, confused.
Lilia shook his head. “I meant your free time. You’re both more than just your jobs, and it’s about time you learn that. I think I have something that might help.”
Lilia’s half smile morphed into a mischievous grin. He pulled out his magical pen (not that he really needed it to cast spells, he just liked the flair) and twirled it expertly between his fingers. With a soft incantation in a language long lost, he flicked the pen in the direction of Silver and Sebek. For a moment, it seemed as though nothing changed. Then, almost imperceptibly, the air between them shimmered slightly before settling back down. As expected, it did not escape his students’ notice.
“Lilia-sama,” Sebek asked nervously. “May I inquire as to what exactly you did?”
Lilia’s grin stretched wider. “Well, why don’t you come over here then, Sebek?”
Sebek nodded as he moved to stand from his chair. Still obviously confused by the predicament, he walked towards Lilia. Or at least, he tried to. The moment he stepped away from the chair, he was yanked back by an invisible force towards Silver. He paused for a moment, glancing back and forth between Lilia and Silver. He tried to move again, only to be pulled back towards the other boy once more. Silver seemed to realize what was going on as well and desperately tried to move away from Sebek. The results were the same, with a force dragging him straight back to Sebek’s side.
“Father, what did you do?” Silver demanded. Lilia wanted to laugh at the edge of panic he heard in his adoptive son’s voice.
Lilia waved his pen. In between Sebek and Silver now materialized a translucent rope with both ends tied to each of their waists. The rope was currently pulled taut, extending to only about a fourth of a meter in between them.
“Did you bind us together with magic!?” Sebek shrieked, sounding mildly hysteric.
Lilia chuckled. “Relax, kids. It’s a temporary spell. The magical rope will tie you two together so that you won’t be able to stray far from each other.”
"But," He held up a hand as the duo tried to protest. “the length of the rope will increase as you understand each other more and more. The more willing you are to open up and be honest with each other, the further apart you’ll be allowed to go. The rope is semi-intangible, so as long as you have the distance, the rope will pass through any physical object between you two. When you’ve both finally reached an equilibrium, the rope will disappear entirely.”
Lilia waved his pen again and the rope disappeared from sight. “Until you learn to get along and resolve whatever hostility is going on between you two, you’ll be stuck like this. It just goes to show how little you know of each other with how short your rope is. It’s a bit disappointing, I must say, with how long you’ve known each other. You must understand that your relationship is not only important to you personally but it also affects the people around you. Ace looked terrified earlier, and Yuu had ended up getting hurt.”
Silver and Sebek looked thoroughly scolded. Lilia looked between them, letting out a sigh.
“This isn’t a punishment, you know. Don’t treat it as such. Think of it as incentive to learn more about each other and improve yourselves." Lilia's grin crept back on his face. "Now, any questions?”
It was meant as a rhetorical question, but it seemed the children actually did have things to ask.
“Um, Father,” Silver piped up. “How are we supposed to get to our classes like this? We’re in different years.”
“And how will we train and spar with so little distance between us? Or follow club activities?” Sebek asked, before tacking on a “of course, I’m sure your judgment is sound, Lilia-sama.”
Lilia only shrugged. “Well you better get to bonding then! The rope won’t extend itself!”
With a happy whistle, Lilia left the boys to their own devices and exited the infirmary. He immediately noticed the huddle of first years eavesdropping on the conversation.
He winked at Yuu and Grim who were hiding behind a pillar in the hallway. He’d been aware that they were all listening in, but it wasn’t as if Sebek could hide his situation from his friends anyways. As much as he believed in the two, he knew there was no way they would open up enough tonight for them to be able to attend separate classes tomorrow. He should probably go talk to the professors after this. Deuce looked at Lilia apologetically while Ace merely grinned back. Lilia let out a laugh.
“Well, tomorrow will be a fun day, won’t it?”