Truvius stared at the suitcase, crouched before the contraption with glittering eyes enchanted by curiousity. He'd been stuck in the action for a solid minute, turned from disturbing its contents out of a courtesy for privacy, yet pulled by its irresistible charm.
Would Káel mind?
Truvius' fingers twitched, hovering over the lip of the shining zipper.
If he could just understand its basics, that would be enough. It looked like the toothed clips Alta Staar had been refining for years, yet engineered to perfection and daily convenience.
A smile warmed Truvius' cheeks.
Káel had been the best roommate he could have ever hoped for. So blind to the basics of Lumi and its lands he'd picked up a nomad dragon, and the only distaste he showed Truvius was when he yammered too much. A single flaw he was definitely trying to fix.
His homeland made it hard to stand equally amongst what should have been peers. In reality, the only way he'd managed to score an affordable education was shining so bright academically the Garaean Empire's migration camps had no choice but to pay him a glance. Cobalt had come with staggeringly high recommendations, but even its welcoming gates allowed a couple Goldwater nobles and other United Mizer sympathizers to slip in.
Truvius sighed at the thought. He would have loved nothing more than to trust everyone, but in his position, only Káel's staggering ignorance, and unworldly contraptions, had bought his trust.
Truvius reared his mind back to happier thoughts, smirking at the suitcase. He'd taken what little he knew of Káel's flat personality and concluded that he wouldn't mind. Too much.
He pinched the zipper, the muffled crick of the separating teeth nurturing his excitement as he slowly went ahead with the covert operation. Ten bumps in, a mass brushed Truvius' side, but his attention was too concentrated to acknowledge his running nose and itchy eyes, forcing Jeremiah to turn to force.
The cat chirped, an innocent call to prelude his sinister plans.
He flopped onto his side, Truvius' bare foot inches away.
The perfect target.
Twenty three notches down. Truvius was counting.
He gently pulled it down a sliver, his stealth mission shattered by a sudden yelp that escaped his throat. He yelped again as another set of claws anchored to his ankle, followed by the quick barrage of feline feet, and Jeremiah's prickly fangs that had taken a liking to his pinky toe.
He instinctively threw his hand down to shoo the hell sent interruption, regret gnawing into his knuckles as Jeremiah seized his hand.
To Truvius' utter misfortune, the door clicked behind him. His roommate storming in, only for his mysterious temper to be soothed by a spell of confusion at the sight of Truvius' wrestling back his hand while he frantically zipped up the suitcase.
Káel blinked, his arms still folded to cradle Puff. Truvius noticed the small drake's turned body, his face hidden in Káel's arm while his small form trembled.
"Is Puff okay?"
Káel's mouth twitched, the fury he'd greeted his entrance with returning via a sharp sigh. "He'll be fine. Tia and the pretty boy were being douchebags."
YOU ARE READING
COBALT: The Red Phantom (Book One)
Fantasy[Featured: EDITOR'S CHOICE] Káel didn't think his life could get worse after being abducted by an alien posing as a Russian exchange student. Until that 'one day' turned into three months, and he was forced to get cozy on a post-war planet fresh out...
