Five times someone from the Akademiya thought Alhaitham and Kaveh were dating

6:+ 1, Rtawahist Dastur Setaria

There are five steps from Uncle Anpu's doorstep to the main path.

Setaria paces, counting down from five under her breath. Fists clenched at her sides, she turns crisply on her heels, sand grinding against the stone underneath her sandals when she reaches one and begins again.

Even with increased trade routes to Aaru Village, General Mahamatra Cyno's help requesting teaching materials, and extra staff, Setaria still hears the haunting tone of Nabiya's voice asking her why she hasn't returned to the desert.

Despite the fact that she's already home, Setaria wonders if she's doing enough.

After twenty more paces she stops firmly in front of the door and taps on it rapidly with her knuckles. Stepping back, she squares off her shoulders and waits. Soft laughter echoes out onto the doorstep where Setaria waits. The latch suddenly scraping against the wood startles her and Setaria takes a small step back.

When Candace opens the door, a light-haired man peers curiously at Setaria from the table. He has stretched his body across one of Uncle Anpu's chairs, draping his arm forward in a way that looks uncomfortable and awkward. His cape is fastidiously embroidered with attention and care that only comes from Sumeru's best textiles and custom needlework. The gilded ends of it make a soft chiming sound as he moves his hand in a small and dismissive greeting. When he nods towards Candace, who ushers Setaria into the room and closes the door behind her, a blue feather in his hair bobs merrily.

Setaria recognizes him from the Akademiya hallways, but cannot recall his name or who he is. He looks so out of the ordinary. She feels like she should know who he is and settles for a respectful bow in his direction before turning to Candace.

"Setaria. We've been waiting for you," Candace says with a warm smile. "I hope that you found the new location adequate."

Nodding, Setaria thinks of the planned building spot just under one of the cliffs at the edge of Aaru Village. It's close enough to the town itself that the supply routes won't be anything out of the ordinary but far away enough from the village centre that eremites from several nearby encampments can attend classes.

Candace and her team also must have had Rtawahist and Spantamad scholars inspect the land. It sits directly on a strong ley line and underneath the constellation representing wisdom in the winter sky.

"It's a thoughtful location," Setaria tells Candace. "Thank you."

Candace laughs and then gestures towards the ornately-dressed man. "I had nothing to do with it. Thank Mister Kaveh here."

Eyes widening, Setaria fully turns towards the man and studies him again. She has heard of the prodigious architect who designed The Palace of Alcazarzaray — she even tried to attend one of his lectures once as an elective but it was already full — and watched as former Grand Sage Azar petulantly continued to deny former Kshahrewar Sage Firouz and his entire darshan funding despite Kaveh's popularity and genius.

"I'm sorry I didn't recognize you, Mister Kaveh," Setaria says, bowing again in Kaveh's direction. "Of course I've heard of your many accomplishments. Thank you so much. It really is a wonderful location. I can tell that you put a lot of thought into it already."

Kaveh shrugs and languidly moves his right hand through the air. "I don't believe our paths have crossed before. If they have, we've never spoken. There's no need for an apology or a title."

His voice has almost a musical lilt to it, despite his brusque tone. Setaria swallows. He doesn't seem angry — he doesn't seem to care about her presence at all, she thinks — but she's been around enough academics to be wary.