Serendipity (Karlnapity Fantasy AU)

Chapter 4

Karl just took his food and left the line to meet Quackity and Sapnap in the middle of the dining hall. The two stood there indecisively talking. Quackity looked around as if he was looking for someone and Karl remembered that he would be moving in with Wilbur today so Karl could move into Sapnap's room.

When Karl arrived, Sapnap greeted him with a gentle nudge on the shoulder and a soft smile. Quackity nodded briefly to Karl, standing on his toes to survey the crowded hall."I think they went to the back," Sapnap commented."Are you sure about that? I don't want to walk around here like an idiot with my fo-" he broke off when he spotted Wilbur. Immediately he began twirling his right arm wildly in the air to grab the attention of the scary boy with the big snow-white wings."Wilbur wait!", Quackity shouted. Before running to him, he turned to Sapnap and Karl again. "See you later," with a grin he left. 

At noon there was more activity in the dining hall than in the morning. Sapnap had explained to him that breakfast was not mandatory, and therefore most people would rather sleep longer than eat anything. Karl was glad to have had breakfast today, because the lessons proved to be particularly exhausting, and without something in his stomach he would probably have perished.

Sapnap meandered through the hall, followed by Karl, past the crowded tables. While Karl continued to reflect on the day so far, Sapnap looked for a place to sit. They still had about two hours of gym class ahead of them and Karl felt sick just imagining it. The hours so far consisted of normal subjects, just as they would have been at home. There was history, they were taught in their language, and there were subjects that dealt with warfare.

Karl was surprised, but then it was explained to him that many graduates of this academy entered the service in the army. Karl did not quite understand the history and political situation of this world, but he knew that two species of humans had been fighting each other for centuries, each trying to conquer as much land as possible.

The cup on his tray clattered against the edge of the plate as he abruptly came to a stop behind Sapnap. Sapnap was flicking the blond head of a boy who squealed in outrage.
"Chill dude. I just wanted to eat in peace and introduce you to Karl," Sapnap said, gesturing elegantly to Karl next to him. Karl, who had not been aware of why they had stopped and who these people were, cautiously raised his hand and smiled.

Four people were sitting at the table. A girl with pink hair, whom Karl observed in a friendly but suspicious way, and a little boy with tousled brown hair and big horns. The most bizarre, however, was the guy next to the boy with the horns. It was a giant, a nervous look was on his two-toned face, a long thin tail flicking through the air. He had long ears, black and white hair. Sapnap sat down next to the blond boy, who had big beautiful wings.

"Sit down, Karl." the boy murmured, pointing to a chair next to him. Karl nodded and sat down at the table with his food. It was getting a little crowded in here, but everyone slid a little closer together. Karl sat next to the Giant and Sapnap, he was a little nervous about it because this guy was definitely 2.5m tall ( 8.2 feet.).At this moment this guy started to clear his throat, causing Karl to tense. 

"Hey, Karl...I'm Ranboo, the one next to me is Tubbo, the girl is Niki and that one there," he pointed to the blond boy with wings, "that's Tommy." Karl tried to remember all the names as quickly as possible."Don't I know you already?", Karl asked and looked at Niki. She seemed confused at first but then nodded."Oh, yes! We just had history together. I'm sitting in the back," she said, a big smile on her lips.

The dining hall was suddenly interrupted by a loud bang that blasted out of very old-looking speakers.

Is the damn thing on? Well...um...Dear students of the L'Manburg Academy of Sector A, We have decided to limit the curfews for another 2 hours. We are doing this because of the upcoming weather forecast and an increased risk of acid rain. Please be careful. Thank you for your attention and keep eating.

The announcement ended and the silent dining hall became noisy again as every student complained about these measures. Karl turned to Sapnap in confusion but finally decided against asking him in front of the others. After all, everyone thought he had changed academies and was from Sector B because his recent academy was destroyed. 
It might make sense for these people that you're here, but not for you, he thought.

"Karl, how do you like our school, by the way?" asked Tubbo suddenly. Karl had to think for a moment. He wasn't allowed to share too much of himself, but it had to come across as authentic."It reminds me a bit of my school, even though...there weren't so many hybrids in B Sector. I still like it a lot. It's different, but I like new and different things.", the others seemed satisfied with his answer, and Sapnap next to him also nodded at him. Karl was serious about what he said. So much was different here, but strangely, it all seemed so familiar.

"Don't you think it's funny that the professors keep limiting the curfew?" asked Tubbo, his head bobbing through the air as one of his horns kept brushing against Ranboo's arm."Why?" asked Sapnap. He was eating and stopped. His face was tense, the hand in which he held his fork, twitched slightly. Karl narrowed his eyes. Why was Sapnap reacting this way? Did he know something that Karl and the others did not know?

"A few days ago there was this weird tornado that none of the professors explained or wanted to explain and now we have limitations? They're hiding something from us," Tommy grumbled, his eyes narrowed."Tommy, now don't always think of it as a conspiracy. It's all good.", Tubbo laughed when everyone at the table got quiet. Tubbo threw some mashed potatoes with his fork in Tommy's direction. The latter cried out and immediately the two started a small food war, which Ranboo and Niki tried to stop.

 Sapnap, meanwhile, continued to eat in silence. The others didn't even notice how Sapnap's foot trembled continuously under the table and that he ate in silence. Although a smile sat on his face, Karl sensed that something was wrong and Tommy did too. 

Karl was about to do something stupid when Quackity stormed up to the table between Karl and Sapnap.
"Big Q!" yowled Tommy, getting a high-five from Quackity.
"You promised me you'd give me your dessert today, Big Q," Tommy whined.
" I promised you my dessert? Tommy, I think you dreamed that," Quackity said, reaching out to ruffle the younger student's hair.

Tommy immediately moved away and ran his hands through his hair in frustration, while Tubbo thanked Quackity for doing so. Ranboo watched the others with a mixture of concern and amusement.
"Did you hear the announcement, Quackity?" asked Niki, who was just returning her empty glass of water to her tray. Quackity nodded but looked less interested in having a conversation about the weather.
"I was going to kidnap Karl and Sapnap again now. Because we have training now and Profesor Puffy has threatened me with toilet scrubbing if I'm late again," Quackity explained, patting the two boys next to him on the back.

Karl and Sapnap rose from their seats, and as they took their trays away, Karl realized that he had not eaten anything because of his excitement, but only drank.
At least I'm not dehydrated, he thought and followed Sapnap and Quackity out of the dining room. More and more people were making the pilgrimage to the exit, as the lessons were now continuing and Karl could not imagine that soldiers were really being trained here.

It all felt like a very chaotic high school, teaching their students how best to hide from their enemy or how to kill most effectively.
Karl was already overwhelmed by this world, but he tried very hard to understand it all. What else was he supposed to do?

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Don't worry the plot is getting tenser from here. I just need to build up everything to destroy it all later. :]