Part One

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His hand moved over the lock on Deric's door silently. The picks twitched and there was a little click. Everyone else was already upstairs for training, Castian was just going to have a be a little late. Or maybe he wouldn't show, what did any of it matter anymore? Not enough.

The door swung inward under a light touch and he was in. Castian shut and locked it behind him. Then he just stood there. Pain clutched at his throat as he breathed in the familiar scents of Deric's room; incense, sage, something sweet he'd never been able to identify. His hand moved through the dark to the light switch of its own accord, breaking with the ragged hole of rage and pain commanding him not to move. He took a breath and bottled it up again. He'd deal with repressed pain if he ever had the time. So never. Sounded like a good plan.

The light flicked on, shining over the room. He blinked to adjust his eyes to the sight. The room was a mess of overturned objects and open drawers. It looked like it had been raided. The bed was shoved away from the wall, top mattress half hanging off. The sheets and pillows made a pile on the floor.

Bastard. God damn, stinking, rat bastard! Castian struck out with this fist. The boards in the wall cracked hard against his knuckles. Blood dripped off the paneling. His eyes slid shut. So, Taff had raided his room first, then the desk. Of course. Why had he done it so sloppily? Did he just not care? What the hell. He shoved away the urge to punch something again, preferably Taff's face, and opened his eyes. What had he expected to find? That was a harder question than he'd thought. What had he expected? Secret notebooks laying around with information on what Deric had known about Taff and their parents? No. Deric wouldn't have been that careless. He'd known Taff was going to get rid of him.

Anger boiled up inside him again. He'd known, and he hadn't said goodbye. Hadn't told Castian anything. The selfless little shit. Why one earth had he been friends with someone like that? Okay, that wasn't fair or helping. With a sigh he crossed the room, careful not to step on the tossed books and bits of Deric's life littering the floor. He sat on the edge of the bed.

"Deric, why..." his voice came out a strangled whisper. Stop feeling things. He flopped back on the bed, eyes shut. Stop feeling. Stop thinking. Obey. The repetition of his lifetime. Only now he didn't have someone who deserved his obedience. It felt like a chunk out of his identity. Damn Taff to hell and beyond. Super hell. He chuckled dryly. They would be wondering why he wasn't at training by now. Super hell was big enough for them too. For everyone in this damn place.

His fist struck lightly against the bed, bouncing off. There was nothing here for him. At least training was a distraction that bettered his skills. With a sigh he opened his eyes.

Castian stared up at the ceiling, gaze unfocused. Maybe he would leave today instead of going to practice. He'd be in trouble, but what would Taff do? Lock him out. At least that wouldn't be boring... What was that?

He sat up, squinting at the ceiling. It was made up of long boards, staggered like a brick wall. One had a cut in the wrong place.

"Deric, you clever bastard."

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Finally one that wasn't hard to edit, I must have been somewhat awake when I wrote this XD.

Hope you guys like it, part two on Friday.