28 The Council of Sages (1/2)
Needless to say, they'd made a grand entrance that caught everyone's attention. For a fleeting second, Reed contemplated the prospect of living the rest of existence as a hermit in some distant region of the world. Better to live under a rock like a lowly crustacean than suffer the embarrassment he was feeling right now, he considered.
Lu'um scoffed and gave him a heavy-handed slap on the ass. Reed jumped up in surprise and scowled at her, furious that he'd been assaulted without a justifiable reason. The girl's actions spoke more than enough; she would not tolerate back-talk, much less an ounce of disrespect from him.
Reed's classmates who'd been minding their own business before Lu'um burst into the dorms watched the events unfold with bulging eyes. Many of them were having a difficult time processing what they'd seen. A select few among them were even privy to the truth; they understood what his return would signal.
Not only that, he'd come back with company. Who was she and why was she with him? What was her relationship with him? She looked awfully familiar with him if their first impressions of her were to be believed...
Rumor was that he'd gone missing in some unfortunate mishap; Many of them now felt that this theory was completely wrong. It was clear that he was fine; some would even say he was faring rather well as they eyed the mysterious, gallant girl...
Astor choked on his breakfast when he saw Reed and roughly coughed several times until he spat out the lodged piece of bread that'd gotten stuck in his throat. Horatio's eyes shot out of their sockets as he gawked at Reed; Sebastian rubbed his eyes in disbelief again and again...
Astrid and Ophelia were stunned but focused more on the lovely girl than Reed himself as their eyes flickered.
Reed rubbed his head and an empty laugh left his lips. He trembled a bit and said, ”How's it going, guys... been a while, huh?”
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Horatio and Astor made short work in dragging them away from the prying gazes that befell them. The dynamic duo was promptly sequestered in Astor's room once the initial shock faded away. It went without saying that celebrations were in order since their beloved friend had seemingly returned from the beyond.
They made many hugs and jokes; merrymaking was afoot in the small room — it was a special occasion.
It was well known that these individuals were among the first to settle on Mulia's soil an undetermined number of years ago. Even now, contemporary anthropologists didn't know how far back this specific subgroup of humans had been here.
The current interpretation of the archaic language of the Mu stemmed from the contributions they made; without their assistance, it was widely thought that the first races that arrived would have suffered a great deal more than they did.
For these reasons, they earned immense respect and were permitted an autonomous reign of their own in a specific territory in the West. A sacred area of virgin land that has remained untouched for millennia — even before the four empires emerged.
Lu'um was especially delighted when Astor brought out the uncommon confections and gazed at them with a curious twinkle in her eye. She broke into a sweet smile as she savored the taste and entered her own little world, once again in her usual fashion.
Astor chuckled and slung his arm around Reed in a skillful way as if it belonged there. He could no longer hold himself in check and asked, ”So, buddy... you gonna tell us how you met Maya, yet?” He pulled Reed even closer and held him a half-assed neck lock. ”You sly dog, you! Heh, you acted so innocently back then, but look at you now...”
Reed shook his head and said, ”It's not what it looks like, man, she's just a bit physical when it comes to horseplay. We're just good friends is all, I swear.”
Astor didn't buy it all and sneered in disbelief. He released Reed and replied, ”Yeah, yeah, if that's the story you wanna go with, I won't question it. I'm no boor.”
Can men and women be ”just friends”? An important question that received a broad range of answers from both sides of the table. Astor had a firm opinion on what his answer was; he smirked as he popped a chocolate into his mouth.
Astrid and Ophelia remained silent and glared daggers at Astor, but he played the part of the fool and acted oblivious.
Horatio took the opportunity to ask the most pertinent question and said, ”Where have you been, Reed? We've heard many things about your disappearance, you know. Since we all have closer ears to the higher echelons of society if you catch my drift. Heard a lot of wild stuff about... you.” He paused stiffly and let his sentence drift off into the room that'd gone mute.
It wasn't as if they wanted to force the truth out of their companion, but they still wished to know if what they heard over the last several months was true.