Misfits of Aquila (Aquila's Originals 1)

Chapter 26: Routine, Part 1

LIFE AT AQUILA settled into a routine. Captain Stirla's students would spend one morning in lessons, followed by an afternoon of miryhl care and flight, then the next morning flying, followed by combat training and an afternoon of yet more lessons. Evenings were spent either in the eyries, caring for the miryhls, or studying in the libraries, trying to catch up with all their extra work.

Amongst it all, Lieutenant Cayn delighted in making them run. Anytime, any place, if he caught any student wandering around the citadel, he would make them run. Upstairs, over bridges, up to the Heights, around the barracks, down to the watery ruins of the old town. It was exhausting. He got so good at catching them unawares and making them suffer for their inattention that several students developed a nervous twitch and all were jumpy when walking around.

At some point over their first half-moon, Tenzi and Keiva apologised to Rhiddyl for not standing up for her against the bullies, while Guto seemed to forgive Vhen his blasphemy. The three Storm Peakians joined the others as friends again, but it wasn't the same. Rhiddyl spent more time with Taryn, Orla and Caelo, while Vhen and Zett had become fast friends.

The rest of the students called them the Misfits, but it didn't feel like much of an insult. They were a bunch of misfits, not quite fitting in with the rest, and they had no intention of trying to do so. The first dragon and Ihran, the only Havian, the Sutheralli who didn't act like a Sutheralli, and the grumpy princess. Plus Caelo, who was, well, Caelo. They trained together, sat together at meals and in lessons, and stuck together in flying lessons. Lieutenant Honra hardly needed to raise the issue of battle squads with the students – the Misfits already were one.

"We need to train," Caelo announced, one rainy Starday, when the friends had chosen to stick to their room. All the better to avoid Cayn who had been spotted prowling the lower corridors after breakfast, looking for unsuspecting prey to send out in the weather.

"We do train," Taryn replied absently, flicking through a book of famous Etherian poetry, searching for the exact quote Lieutenant Honra had shared three days ago. She needed it to finish her essay. "We train every gods-blessed day."

The others grumbled their distracted agreement. They'd grown good at such conversations, since Caelo was forever coming out with something abstract or outrageous and would pester them until they answered. All of them had learnt to listen to her, even if they weren't paying full attention.

"I know that," Caelo grumbled, lying on her back with her legs against the wall, somehow completing her mathematics problems at the same time. "But we don't train together."

Taryn snorted, while Vhen looked up from annotating a map of Imercian, sweeping a hank of hair out of his eyes. It needed cutting again. "I might regret asking this," the Sutheralli lad murmured, "but if we haven't been training together, what have we been doing? I spend so much time with you lot I'm beginning to forget what other people look like."

"There are other people?" Orla joked in one of her rare flashes of dry humour.

Caelo threw her pen one way, her work the other and rolled onto her knees with a growl. "You know what I mean."

"We really don't," Zett told her gently. Since he'd known her the longest, he tended to be the one to have to break such disappointing truths to her.

"You don't?" Caelo looked perplexed.

"We don't," Taryn confirmed, sensing this could go on all day. "Why don't you explain?" Since they wouldn't get any peace until Caelo had.

The girl gave a put-upon sigh that fooled no one. Caelo loved nothing more than being the centre of attention. She was one of the great mysteries of Aquila to Taryn. If Caelo had wanted, she could have been the most popular student in the citadel, and she would clearly have revelled in such a position. And yet she'd chosen to throw her lot in with a bunch of misfits and outcasts. Unlike the others, who had been rejected and forced out for one reason or another, Caelo had chosen to exile herself. It made no sense, except when it came to Zett. Caelo was deeply loyal to Zett and wouldn't countenance any slight or hint of meanness towards her best friend.