sunlit meadows, waning brooks

chapter eleven // nine of swords

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February 24, 1995

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          Leo had lost track of the days.

          Every morning blurred into the next: dragging himself out of bed, trudging through classes in a haze, and retreating to his room to collapse into his sheets.

          He avoided leaving his dorm unless he absolutely had to; when he did, he kept his head down, not bothering to speak to anyone. The dull ache in his chest made it impossible to focus on anything else, the fog over his senses keeping him locked in his own mind.

          He hated it. He hated the way his thoughts looped endlessly, always circling back to her. From the moment he met Sitra, something about her immediately caught his attention. Something drew him to her, and he had to figure out what it was.

          He noticed her talent, the way she effortlessly excelled in her studies. It drove Leo to push himself harder, to catch her attention and uncover what made her so special. Academics had never been his strong suit—it wasn't easy for Leo to reach and maintain Sitra's level of intellect, but he forced himself anyway, hoping she would notice.

          Now, none of his efforts seemed to matter. They hadn't spoken in weeks, and her words echoed in his mind with a finality that left him hollow.

          She hated him.

          She had said it before, of course, but always with that playful tilt of her head, the slight curve of her lips that told him it was just part of their game. This time, though, those tells were absent. The way she had said those words—she meant it.

          He didn't know why their mutual silence was so unbearable, why the thought of her truly hating him gnawed at his insides. He was too exhausted to figure it out, so he stayed in his room, letting the days slip by.

          After yet another mentally draining day, Leo lay in bed, staring at the ceiling with Aries purring steadily on his chest. The fight with Sitra replayed in his mind for the thousandth time as he squeezed his eyes shut, hoping it would stop.

          Then, the doorknob began to rattle. Aries perked up, her ears twitching at the sound. The door swung open with a loud bang, slamming against the wall. Leo didn't even bother to look up.

          Isaac marched in, his hands on his hips as he took in the disarray of the room.

          "I've had enough of this," Isaac muttered, striding over to the bed and yanking the sheets off Leo with a forceful tug. The sudden rush of cold air made Leo groan in protest.

          "Get up. You need fresh air. You're coming with me to watch the Second Task, no excuses," Isaac commanded.

          Leo clung to Aries, pressing her soft fur closer to his chest. "Don't want to, Isaac. Just leave me alone," he muttered, his voice rough and raspy from days of disuse.

          Isaac wasn't having any of it. With a determined shake of his head, he gently plucked Aries from Leo's arms, setting her down on the bed softly. Then, he seized Leo's arm and pulled him upright with a firm grip. Leo winced at the force, the sudden movement waking him from his daze.

          "Put something decent on," Isaac huffed, his eyes sweeping disapprovingly over Leo's wrinkled T-shirt and sweatpants. "And when we get back, we're doing something about this eyesore of a dorm. It looks like a tornado hit it."