Chapter Two
edited by @rsrdiall

Kayla walked outside of the building, and pulled out the paper map.  She wondered why in this day and age the administration used paper instead of handheld devices but shrugged it off. Walking on the paved pebbled path she noticed the dorm setup.

As she reviewed the map and the legend she smiled inwardly at the names of the six dorms.  She was staying in a mixed dorm call Tianlong. The other five were named:

Shishi, Adlet, Centaur, Hydra, and Sphinx.

She could only nod to herself and chuckle a little at the names of the dorms, it was like someone went and randomly picked names from ancient mythology not caring that they had chosen Roman, Greek and Chinese names.  

It had been over 125 years since Nah'Bye left the Alliance. The peace loving people didn't agree with the Bloody Wars that the Alliance was waging against other planets.  The Ah'Tarians, Rayians and Ralox were taking over all the planets in the galaxy. At that time the leaders of Nah’Bye, and all those with great power used their abilities to create what they now call a living barrier. It was impenetrable to those with malicious intent who could not pass through without being cleansed of it.  The barrier kept the Nah'Bye out of the Bloody Wars and 35 years later the war ended with the Alliance, headed by the Sinclair Family, now dominating over 12 planets and with ties to the only 4 neutral planets left.

It was 22:19 and she was ready to go to bed.  She didn't spare a moment to admire the white washed stone and glass structure as she headed through the sparkling glass door.  She looked around the huge entry foyer at two large double doors on the left and right that looked like they housed huge rooms. She walked down the center of the entryway each with a large intricately etched nameplate.  The massive chandeliers  had motion detectors and turned on as she got closer to them.  After walking past several closed doors she finally reached  two massive staircases with four archways. Those led to the  training rooms, she turned around and walked back to where she had seen several elevators in the middle of the double staircase.

Kayla walked to the elevator and pushed the call button.  Like all the other buildings in the Alliance they were all connected to one interactive network monitored 24/7 by computer engineers, programmers and fiber optic technicians.  Computers were not programmed to think or make logical conclusions on their own; history showed that was what led to the downfall of Earth centuries ago.  They were used to aid in the work done day to day but a person always monitored the machines to make sure that the coding never again evolved to a disastrous level.

Kayla entered the elevator and watched as the doors closed.

"Where to?" Stated a disembodied male voice over the speaker in the elevator.

"I need to get my identification card." was her reply.

The elevator started upward and soft music played through the speakers. Kayla stood blissfully and didn't notice a small flash.  When the elevator dinged open, she exited and looked around. The whole fifth floor consisted of intricate wrought iron designs and floor to ceiling windows. The ceiling was high and arched and made of copper or a copper toned paint.  Beyond the large empty ballroom was a room encased with glass blocks,  the only place that offered any privacy.

"Greetings and welcome to the Tianlong Dormitory."

Kayla turned to see a man that couldn't have been more than 40 walking towards her.  He had a rich mahogany skin tone and matching hair, his purple eyes sparkled and shined as he greeted her enthusiastically.  She couldn't help but smile at the man as he came to greet her this late at night.  He seemed like a father type with his large soft frame and doughy middle.

"I am the Dorm Father," he said in a happy rich voice.  When he spoke she felt comforted, happy, welcomed and loved all at the same time.  He was obviously Noxin, as their powers were more jovial in nature and able to put one at ease.  They were also peacekeepers and one of the four neutral planets..  "I believe you need your ID so you can finally get to your room."  He reached out and handed her a fire blue card

All things blue were for 1st years, green was for 2nd years, red was for 3rd years and gold was for 4th years.  There was only one thing they had in common. The top 10 students in each year had silver pins which showed they were elite in both the academics and in magic since they didn’t need charms or amulets.

Kayla looked down and saw a picture of herself she didn't remember taking but the beige and silver lined background looked like that of the elevator. She knew the picture could have looked twenty times worse because of how tired she was, but it looked pretty decent for one she didn't know she was taking.

"Thank you." She smiled and turned to get back on the elevator.

"Place your ID against the black scanner and it will take you to the elevator closest to your room."

Kayla looked over her shoulder and smiled one last time at the friendly Noxin and asked, "What should I call you?"

The Dorm Monitor clicked his heels together as he replied, "The name is Tomas E. Nord.  You can called me Tomas or Tom whichever you prefer."

She stepped back into the elevator with a nod and small yank before pressing her ID to the little black scanner then felt the elevator shift and descend.  My room number is 2316, so I’m probably on the second floor, she thought.  When she exited the elevator she saw she was on the fourth floor and looked down at her ID again, she now realized that the card had a different room number than the paperwork she received only minutes earlier.  She just shrugged and walked to her new room number 4190, then placed her key card against the scanner. She heard a click and a swirling noise before the door slid open.

Kayla was bone tired after her two day trek from Nah'Bye to Jiju where the Academy was located. She wanted to use the washroom, change into her pajamas and go to sleep.  When she entered the room she noticed that she wasn't sharing like she originally thought, her room assignment was changed from a four person shared suite to a single person room. The small room looked very plain and undecorated with its sand colored interior.  The only good point of the room was the large picture window that the bed was against. Though it was dark outside because of the double moons she could see she had a view of a sand and stone garden.  

Turning to her left she walked through an arch she hoped led to the bathroom.  When she saw  it led not only to the bathroom but also to a closet where her duffel bag and one trunk were sitting neatly waiting to be unpacked she clapped her hands in delight.  The bathroom was in pale shades of gray and sand but Kayla didn't care. The double sink,  toilet, shower stall and a soaking tub big enough for two people more than made up for it.  She looked around to see if there was another door which meant a shared bathroom. The only one she saw was the one leading back out into her room. Oh thank goodness! She was overjoyed not to have to share a bathroom.

Kayla excitedly walked over to the small duffel bag that held her a few of her essential things: soap, towel, underwear and pajamas before she ran back into the bathroom. Once she stripped her clothes off she took a quick look at herself. She smile at her caramel reflection a mixture of her father’s milk chocolate skin tone and her deceased mother’s olive skin tone. Mom I wish you could be  here to see me. I will become the pride of Nah’Bye. Turning on the hot water she took a hot shower before bed.  She wanted to get to sleep early since a new student orientation started at 12:00 tomorrow along with a tour of the dorms and the academic and training buildings.

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Lucas walked away from the main office building and headed to the Tianlong Dorms.  He was still fuming over his cousin’s behavior but knew he had to calm down.  He hated the part of him that made him lose his patience so quickly.  He, also, hated all the walkind at this school but knew that trying to have automatic walkways installed was out of the question. The Alliance didn't want its people to get lazy like the Hawjae Academy students did.  After five minutes he entered the dorms. He walked directly to the elevators, got in and placed his ID against the reader.  After a few seconds he stepped off and turned right to go to the two bedroom suite he shared with his best friend Jacob.

He walked  to the room that read 4390 and placed his ID to the reader, after a few swirling noises, a click and sigh the door slid open and he walked in.  Lucas stopped at the large black tiled entryway. He saw Jacob’s green blazer was already hung and his shoes were neatly in their cubby as he took his blazer and ankle boots off.  He knew if he threw both on the floor and left them he'd find them in their proper place tomorrow but he didn't like the androids Tomas controlled coming into the room to straighten up so put his things away proper

He walked up the two stairs that lead to the rest of the shared area of the suite and sighed. Flung on the crimson and onyx couch was Jacob.  He wanted to tell him to stop sleeping out here. But if he was on the couch that meant some nameless girl was in his room...again.  He walked over to the couch and kicked.

"Get up and get her out of your room," Lucas said in a stage whisper.  He couldn't believe what Jacob could do in less than an hour.

Jacob laid there in nothing but his cream colored sleep bottoms.  His hairless golden chest rose and fell; a muscular arm flung over his fawn colored eyes while he pretended to be asleep. Removing his arm from over his eyes he stared at his best friend, "It’s only been about thirty minutes since I saw you. There's no girl in there, I was waiting up for you."  Jacob said with a lazy drawl.  “I’m actually a little insulted you  think it would take me such a short time to please a woman!” He smirked in amusement as he watched Lucas dark blue eyes start to spark, “Don’t be so spoiled. I still remember what you did to your cousin.  I had to pry your fingers from around the poor girl’s neck after she inquired about a test you didn't do well on.”  

Lucas knew Jacob was one of the only people that didn’t fear him, want something from him, avoid him like the plague or all of the above. Sighing in frustration at the hint of a smile on Jacob's lips, Lucas shoved his well-toned legs off the couch and plopped down.

"So," Lucas began in what he hoped sounded casual, "I saw the first Nah'Byian that will be entering our wonderful school."

“Ah I remember a girl running into you as you were leaving the main building.” Jacob  turned to look at Lucas,  "And, what did you think of our little forty eight percenter?"

Lucas got up to head to the door that led to his sleeping area because he knew that his best friend was already on to him, "She was interesting. Orchid was definitely making her upset but she dismissed her like she would flick away an annoying gnat." Lucas smiled, "When she looked at me I didn't feel the normal calculating vibe from her, though.  She was curious but that was it.  If I didn't know better I'd think she didn't know who I was."  With that Lucas walked into his room and let the door slide closed behind him.

Lucas took off this uniform and threw it in the dirty clothes bin. Time to take our uniforms to the campus cleaners soon.  He walked past the alcove that housed his king size bed with black and white satin sheets then walked through the burning black arch that led to his closet and bathroom.  It was immaculately decorated in rich browns and frosted creams, complete with matching towels that had small gold threads shooting through.

Because of the orientation for the first years he didn't have classes tomorrow, so he decided he'd assist with showing some of the newbies around with Jacob.  He already knew how the girls would behave and they both decided to escort a few of the males from the Raxon planet .

Walking into the shower he placed his hands on the wall and took several deep breaths as the warm water made its journey down his broad muscular shoulders, down the plains of his washboard abs and his muscular back.  Lucas knew his body was considered a work of art and he made sure he worked on it every day before classes and training.  Placing his head on his hands his eyes drifted shut. He wondered what Kayla saw when she looked at him with those remarkable, soulful brown eyes.  He wanted to probe her mind as she looked at him for what felt like hours; but the innocent look in those eyes stopped him dead in his tracks.  To probe her mind would have been a quick way to see but those beautiful eyes didn't need to be polluted by his powers.  Plus he knew that Jacob would feel him using that gift  they both loathed so much.

Exiting the shower and grabbing a dry towel, Lucas looked forward to tomorrow and headed to his bed to call it a night.

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Back outside on the couch, Jacob ran his fingers through his jet black hair and smiled at the room showing off his straight and even white teeth.  He was Ah'Tarian but of the Phoenix clan. They were considered the strongest after the Dragonis clan.  He still remembered when he and Lucas tested for the Academy. They both tested at 98% power levels and did well on the personality and aptitude test. He had a 91% and Lucas had a 94%; their parents and relatives were very proud of them.  He wasn't related to Lucas by blood but their family's friendship ran deeper than all.

Jacob got up. With every move his muscles flexed under his golden skin.  He ran his finger absently over his six pack then headed towards his sleeping area and frowned. He was sure something was off about Lucas from their brief conversation.  Lucas didn't show unnecessary interest with anyone so Jacob was very interested to see what he had in mind.  Like Lucas, he could see into other people’s minds and pry into their thoughts. Yet neither felt like it as it took a lot more concentration than either wanted to use.  But that talent of theirs was a secret. Because it made them even more different, special, from their brethren and neither could use it without the other knowing.  He stretched some more  and  walked into his blue and white sleeping area.