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"Breylyna, can you help me? Why won't this work?"
She chuckled, "Be more confident. You're hands shake too much. Try again, and this time, keep them steady."
I let out a sigh, extending my hand and focusing. A large flame shot from my palm, making J'Zargo yelp and snatch his tail, patting out where the flames touched it. His ears flattened, "Watch it."
"Sorry..."
Onmund had been quiet. He was leaning back comfortably, a small sphere of ice solidly floating atop his hand. He stared at it, and looked to J'Zargo, "How do I make this go away?"
J'Zargo held out his hand, then brought his fingertips together. Onmund repeated what the Khajiit did, and the sphere disappeared with a small, whooshing noise following. J'Zargo looked to me as I worked on controlling fire, "Ai, ai, ai. J'Zargo doesn't like fire. Burns fur too much."
Breylyna narrowed her eyes at him, but didn't say anything. She stood up, "I'll go grab some wine to ease our minds. I assume you'll each take a glass?"
I gave up on my homework, my fingers numbing for a moment, "That'd be nice."
Onmund looked up, "Oh, I don't want too much. I'm not a big drinker."
J'Zargo smiled, "Of course you're a big drinker. You're a Nord, no?"
"Well yeah, but-"
Breylyna frowned, "Enough. I'll be back. Be civil while I'm gone. I won't be long." She went to the common room. We'd been in here for nearly an hour, practicing the whole time. We had a huge test in two days, and we were hardly prepared. We each had different tasks. I had to control fire, Onmund had to control spherical ice while Breylyna practiced with shards, and J'Zargo had to master sparks. I was the only one seeming to have trouble, but I wasn't even sure if J'Zargo had been practicing. He probably didn't have to. Breylyna came back, four stone goblets in her arms. She leaned down and I took two of them, to lessen her load. I handed one to Onmund, who was closest to me, and Brylyna handed the remaining one to J'Zargo, before sitting down with her legs tucked under her.
In the next few minutes, I learned a lot about my fellow students, and who they were when they were the least bit intoxicated. J'Zargo's lips were loosened, as was the tension in Onmund's shoulders. The two men joked around, as I'd never seen them do before. Breylyna seemed the most sober, and just watched with a calm grin on her face. J'Zargo let out a low growl, "I don't know about you, Onmund, but Tolfdir really gets me going."
He shoved him gently, "That's gross, even for you!" J'Zargo erupted in laughter and Breylyna closed her door so we wouldn't interrupt anyone. The Khajiit's tail flicked playfully and he looked to me, "What about you? Anyone you fancy at the college?"
I glanced to Onmund, who was frowning at his friend, a blush on his face. I cleared my throat, "I promised my father I wouldn't date while I was in school. I don't really have a crush on anyone right now." I took another sip of wine, hoping it would mellow out my voice. I wasn't lying. I found different people attractive, of course, but I really didn't have my eyes on anyone in particular. Of course, Onmund had always struck my interest, but I wasn't sure of my feelings. Did I really fancy him, or did I just fancy the idea of him liking me? I shook my head a little, and cleared my throat, "What about you, Breylyna?"
She held up her right hand, showing a silver band, "I've got a wife back home."
J'Zargo grinned, "Me too."
Onmund frowned, "Really?"
"Yeah. Your mother." J'Zargo let out a small howl, leaning back in his chair and falling to the ground. Breylyna reached over and snatched his empty glass of wine, setting it away from him. Onmund and I erupted in laughter, and he helped the Khajiit back to his feet, straightening his chair out. Breylyna looked to Onmund, "What about you, Nord? Any interests?"
His eyes darted to me, and he frowned in thought, "Why do I have to answer?"
"The rest of us answered."
I smiled, crossing my legs, "Yeah, come on, Onmund. This is a team-building exercise."
He shrugged, folding his hands in his lap, "Well, there's someone I'm interested in, but I don't think they like me back."
I felt the effects of my alcohol hitting me in slow waves, until I completely zoned out. J'Zargo said something and laughed loudly, though it was more like a hissing laughter, so it was still pretty quiet. I realized Onmund was done talking, and I grinned, "You're attractive, for a Nord."
Breylyna huffed, "Yes. Were you a dark or high elf, you'd be hideous. Nords have disgustingly low cheekbones."
J'Zargo laughed, "Look at yours! You could serve a whole table on those!" He laughed again, resorting to a wheeze. I was worried he'd pass out. He and Breylyna broke off into a conversation that was solely banter, and I looked back to Onmund, "Anyways. You're attractive. I'm sure you could have anyone around your finger."
"But I don't want just anyone."
"Hm. Who do you want, then? I may be able to help get the two of you together."
"I doubt it." He scratched the back of his head, dragging his hand along the side of his neck and resting it by his side again. I narrowed my eyes at him, and grinned, "Is it me?"
"What?"
"Do you like me?"
"I- uhm... of course I like you! We're friends!"
"You know that's not what I meant. Do you really like me?"
He sighed, thinking for a minute, "Yeah."
I chuckled, "That makes sense. I like you too."
"You said you weren't looking for a relationship."
"Not during my time here, I'm not, but I'm sure I'm allowed to bend the rules a bit, right?"
"If it means you'll be with me."
I leaned forward, over the armrest of my chair, pushing my lips to his. He seemed like he was going to pull back, but he didn't. He let his lips melt into mine, until a jolting pain in my leg pulled me away. I frowned at J'Zargo, who had the last few bolts of lightning disappearing from his fingertips. He grinned, "J'Zargo admires your bravery."
"We were having a moment."
Breylyna hummed, "Is that what you call that?"
J'Zargo gasped, looking to Onmund, "You have to marry her now!"
