3. Bunkhouse
T heir student guide led them to what looked like row upon row of identical stone bunkhouses. They had curving roofs from one side to the other, with small windows lining the sides all the way down.
“This will be your home for the first year,” the third year said, grinning as she took in all the shocked expressions of the other students.
“That’s when we’ll be given a rank, isn’t it?” Aeden asked. He already knew the answer, but thought it best to play dumb in front of all the other students.
She smiled. “At the end of your first year, you will have the opportunity to apply for a rank, and if you succeed, you will be given a room to share. Or, on the off chance you become an officer, you will be given your own room. Otherwise, you’ll remain in the bunkhouses.”
“And what if you don’t get a rank in training?” another woman asked.
“Then you will have to work that little bit harder. ”
Having spent so long living alone with his grandparents, living in a bunkhouse with others didn’t faze Aeden. All he knew was working the farm, and although he wasn’t used to sharing a living space, he liked the idea of being around others that were of a similar age for once.
Aeden followed the third year past the first block of bunkhouses. He noticed that the first group had a series of red banners attached to them, a golden sword embroidered into the fabric that waved around in the breeze.
“These are the bunkhouses for the Offence class,” she explained as they walked by. “Yours are just over here.”
The next group of bunkhouses were just a little further on.
The Support class banner was a deep purple colour with silver embroidery depicting the image of a scroll.
“You will see there are fewer bunks for Support in active use. This is because of the dwindling numbers and?—”
“I think we all know the reason why,” a woman said.
Aeden appreciated her cutting off the third year, as he didn’t feel particularly in the mood for a history lesson. He knew the reason why, as did everyone else in his cohort.
The third year looked furious at the interruption.
Folding her arms, she scoffed, “Your bunkhouses are sorted in a random order. There are only four bunkhouses, and yes, they will be mixed. You’re all adults, so the academy won’t listen to any complaints.
Besides, they probably want you to mix with numbers being low, if you know what I mean.
” She pulled out some folded parchment from her blazer and started reading it aloud .
“Turner, O’Rourke, Boltsmith, Harrington, Mitchell, Shaw, Parker, Burke, and Harrison, you’re up. This is your bunkhouse.”
“Any advice for a first year?” a young man asked. He was on the shorter side, with thick curls of red hair. His voice quivered, raising one of his eyebrows as he almost winced at the question he’d asked.
“Yeah,” she said. “Don’t die.”
“Shit, I was hoping for something a little more helpful,” the red-haired man said once their guide had left them to their own devices.
He was scrawny in build, and though Supports didn’t need to be as physically adept as the other classes, even Aeden was surprised that he had been accepted into the academy.
“The name’s Harrison,” the redhead added. He held out a hand to Aeden, followed by a nervous smile.
Aeden recognised the name from his list of bunkmates. “Do you have a first name, Harrison? I guess we’re going to be bunk buddies.”
“Just Harrison will do,” he said.
“My name’s Aeden, Aeden Harrington.” He shook Harrison’s hand.
“Don’t take this too personally, but if we’re all going to die anyway, then I’d rather not get too attached to you.”
Aeden laughed. “I can respect that.” He understood Harrison’s sentiment; Director Vale had said it herself that she believed their numbers would greatly fall between now and the bonding ritual. “I’ll try not to get too attached if you promise to do the same. ”
“Sounds like a deal,” Harrison said. “Now, shall we find out what kind of shit hole they’re putting us in for the next year of our lives?”
Aeden nodded and started examining the bunkhouses as the rest of the Support group started splintering off and heading to their designated living quarters. Aeden, Harrison, and the other students assigned here entered their bunkhouse.
To say the bunkhouse was minimalist was putting it lightly. Nine beds were lined up on either side of the living space with a small set of wooden drawers beside each one.
Each bed was low to the ground, with a blanket rolled up into a tight ball at the foot of each one, along with a small pillow.
Aeden was just about to swear out loud when Harrison beat him to it.
“Ah, shit!” Harrison walked towards a bed and picked up the bag that was sitting at the foot of it. “Guess we have the right bunker.” He tossed his bag onto his bed. “I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting much, but this is pretty dire, especially for a prestigious academy.”
Aeden, however, wasn’t fazed by how minimalist the room was, having been used to this from his room at home. He didn’t have many possessions, so this space would do just fine.
“Well, at least it’s clean,” he said as he scanned the room for his own bag. It was sitting at the foot of the bed beside Harrison’s.
When Aeden picked up his bag, his first thought was that he hoped what little he had was still inside and that nothing had gone missing in transit.
Placing the bag on his bed, he started rummaging through it until he felt the coldness of his silver pendant inside.
He breathed a sigh of relief, then hid it within the change of clothes he had before placing it in his bedside drawers.
Other students started following into the bunkhouse, each with a varying level of grumbling as they entered.
“They didn’t tell us that it was mixed rooms when we enrolled,” one woman said as she picked up her bag. She was tall, with hazel eyes and dark, bushy hair. “It’s one thing having to live in a bunkhouse, it’s another to be stuck here with a group of boys.”
“How did you think it would be?” another woman said. She had a thicker accent like Aeden, broader, stronger. She was a little shorter, with her hair cut short almost to the scalp, and she wore a terrifying scowl – one that told Aeden not to mess with her.
“Hello, beautiful,” Harrison said, becoming all doe-eyed around the less scary-looking student. He suddenly had a panicked expression on his face as he frantically looked around the room. “Shit, did I just say that out loud?” He looked at Aeden for reassurance, which Aeden could not provide.
All Aeden could do was nod and laugh. “Afraid so.”
“Ew,” the woman replied, “this is not okay. This is exactly why I don’t agree with bunking up with boys, especially the letchy, creepy ones like him.” She sat on her bed and clutched her bag to her chest like it was a teddy bear.
“Don’t mind Harrison, he clearly isn’t the best with his words. He seems pretty harmless to me.” Aeden smiled, rubbing the back of his head. The best he could do in this situation was try and keep the peace. “Isn’t that right, Harrison?”
“I am so sorry, I just say goofy things when I get nervous. I promise you, you will be perfectly safe. ”
The woman’s bed was two away from Harrison’s, and she looked far from impressed.
The scary-looking woman moved to a bed opposite her.
“Tell you what, why don’t we split the room in two,” Aeden said, trying to act as peacemaker. “Ladies on that side, and us on this side. It would be easier to establish now, when most of us are here.” There were still a couple of empty beds in the bunkhouse on the far side.
“That’s better than nothing.” The scary woman shrugged.
The bushy-haired woman stood up and quickly switched sides.
“Look, I’m sorry?—”
“Save it, creep,” she said before Harrison could finish. “If you so much as cross that line while I am in this bunkhouse, I swear I will cut your throat in your sleep.”
Aeden was surprised at the threat of violence spewing from the mouth of such a meek and mild-looking woman
“You’ve got it, stay on this side,” Harrison said. He decided to focus his attention on his bag and spent longer than he needed to sorting through it, clearly unsure of what to do or say.
“Okay, I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot. Seeing as we are going to be roommates for the next year, why don’t we start off with some names?
I’m Aeden, Aeden Harrington. Harrison has already introduced himself, albeit like a bit of a dick, but I think I can safely say it wasn’t intentional.
” Aeden looked at the scary lady, hoping she would help ease the tension in the room.
“Hey,” Harrison said .
Aeden simply raised an eyebrow at Harrison, who in turn shrugged and nodded his head in agreement.
“Vivienne,” the scary lady replied, “the name is Vivienne O’Rourke.” She looked at the remaining woman expectantly.
With a sigh, she said, “Serene Turner.”
“Okay, now that we have introductions out of the way, how about we get unpacked and ready given that we need to make sure we survive the next term.” Aeden saw on the ground a piece of parchment where he had picked his bag up from. Examining it, he realised it was his schedule.
“Judging by this, my first class is with Master Ember, at the hatchery.” Something about that excited Aeden – this was why they were here, after all. Not just to train but to be permanently bonded with an Aer-Kin.
“So have I,” Harrison said, looking at his schedule.
“Me too.”
“Same.”
“I wonder if the whole cohort is there?” Vivienne said. “That would make sense. Shall we head there straight away? Director Vale said not to take long.”
“I’m with her,” Harrison said, “we don’t want to be the last to turn up.”
The door to the bunkhouse opened up, and more students entered, a mixture of men and women that filled all the remaining beds.
“Hi there,” Aeden said, introducing himself.
He explained that their belongings were at the ends of the beds and that they had split the room in half to make the women in the bunkhouse as comfortable as possible, which they all agreed to.
After asking them to check their schedules, they quickly realised that they were right and all of them had a lesson with Master Ember.
Aeden and the others helped the newcomers unpack, then readied to leave for their first class.
“Where do you suppose the hatchery is?” Serene asked.
“I’m not sure,” Aeden said, “but I think it should be easy enough to find.”
“Easy enough to find,” Harrison protested, raising his hands in exasperation. “Have you seen the size of this place?”
“Why don’t we just head outside and see if anyone else knows where we need to go?” Vivenne said, taking the lead and stepping outside. Aeden followed her, figuring they weren’t going to find out where to go by staying inside all day.
Outside, different groups of students were leaving their bunkhouses to do exactly the same.
“Seems like a good place to start,” Vivenne said. “Always follow the group.”
Aeden wasn’t sure he agreed with that advice, but in this situation, they had nothing else to go on, so he and Vivienne set off towards where the other students were congregating, with the others trailing shortly behind them.
“Hey, wait up,” Harrison said as he drew level with Aeden. “So do you think she likes me?”
“Who?”
“My goddess, Serene, of course. Do you think I have a chance?” He looked at Serene, who had moved just in front of them beside Vivienne. Sensing that Harrison was looking, she flipped him the finger.
Aeden laughed. “I’d say your chances are slim to none.”
“So, you agree that I have a chance?”
“If that’s what you take from my response, I can’t wait to see how all of this unfolds. ”
They continued up the path until they eventually reached the congregation of students.
“What’s going on?” Vivienne asked another student.
“Settle in, settle in,” came a voice from the front.
Aeden stepped to the side to get a better look.
It was Master Ember.
“Gather around,” Master Ember said, smiling at the rowdy group.
“It’s time for your first lesson. Today, I am going to introduce you to one of the most important topics you will study during your time here: Aer-Kin.
” He offered the group a warm, albeit slightly nervous, smile.
“Now, who is ready to see an Aer-Kin egg?”