Storm Wolf: Tranquil waters - 45. Chapter 10 - Cirrus clouds 10.1

Cirrus clouds: ever-changing and fleeting

I dreamed of endless darkness.

Is it possible, if a dream is utterly empty, that it still counts as dreaming?

Then again, considering I'm pondering a philosophical question in a dream, seeing nothing but darkness doesn't seem so strange, does it?

But, was I really dreaming?

Even before I understood I was a psychic, these vivid dreams played out every deep night. I never remembered the details, nor did I connect them with my abilities.

How could I be sure if this was just a simple dream--or something far more significant?

Got it--words! During sleep, the brain center for reading isn't active. If I could find some flat text, I could confirm whether I was dreaming or not.

I need to write this down, or I'll forget it again. But how am I supposed to...?

A creaking noise woke me up. As I opened my eyes, the room's lights came on automatically, a soft, warm hue like early morning sunlight. Interesting design.

Another two creaks interrupted my thoughts. I turned my head to find the source--it was Tadao's antlers scraping against the bed frame, making a sound that was... quite unpleasant.

This could be a problem.

But my curiosity got better of me. Can he roll over while lying down?

I sat up quietly and observed the red deer's sleeping posture. I heard a swishing sound behind me, and when I turned, I noticed the tip of my tail was moving rapidly. I quickly grabbed it to prevent more noise.

"What are you doing?" His voice was sharp, fully awake, with a hint of... suspicion?

Perfect. A wolf with ears perked up, staring intently at a sleeping deer--could this get any stranger?

"Oh, I just woke up and was spacing out on the bed," I said slowly, trying to sound convincing, flattening my ears to the sides.

Great, more lies to add to our relationship. Truly the best strategy.

"Uh... okay?" Tadao sat up too, hugging the blanket to cover himself from the neck down. "Sorry if I reacted a bit strongly. It's my first time sharing a room with someone; I'm just not used to it," he murmured, glancing at my hand, still holding my tail.

"Oh, I can barely remember a time when there wasn't another wolf sleeping next to me," I tried recalling memories from before I was six, but they were fuzzy. "So I guess I don't have that problem."

I looked at Tadao after speaking. He remained in the same position, not moving an inch.

I sighed, released my tail, and decided I didn't want to start my fresh beginning this way.

"I was just wondering... can you turn over while lying down?" I asked, using a casual tone, hoping it didn't sound too strange. Then it hit me--I didn't even know what 'normal conversation' was supposed to sound like.

Tadao froze, and despite my optimism, his expression could only be read as confused. But, after a few seconds, he burst into laughter, clutching the base of his antlers as if he couldn't stop.

That's probably... a good sign, right?

"I can sleep on my side, but the range of motion for my head is kind of limited," Tadao explained, lifting his pillow to reveal a groove on the mattress. "Large cervids like me know this kind of design. The AI even pointed it out when I went to print it--said it's a standard model for the Academy."

"Oh!" I lifted my pillow and found the same design on my mattress. "Universal design!" I suddenly understood.

"Uh... what?" The red deer asked, not entirely sure what I was talking about.

"A design that works for people with different needs!" I put the pillow back and heard my tail brush quickly against the bed sheets again. "Since the Senate's full of wolves, I never noticed."

"Oh." Tadao tilted his head slightly, scratching his cheek with his right hand. "Same on Ares--cervids... live together."

"Looks like we'll both be getting used to new things!" I said excitedly, shaking off the lingering discomfort of my tangled winter coat. "I'll use the bathroom first, if you don't mind?"

"You're one of those 'morning and night shower' types?" He gestured 'go ahead' before asking.

"Only in the winter." I climbed down the ladder, chuckling softly at the amusing term. "Once I shed my winter coat, I won't need to shower in the morning."

"Wait," Tadao leaned out of bed, looking at me. "You're not going to shed, are you?"

"Uh..." I thought back to shedding season, the cleaning robots coming out daily to tidy up the fur. "Deer don't shed?"

Tadao responded with a deeply offended expression, and I guiltily scratched my ear. I scanned the room but didn't see a cleaning robot's station.

"I'll clean it up," I raised my right hand, drawing a circle next to my head. Dust and fur on the floor, enveloped by my consciousness's grasp, swirled together into a small ball of indescribable black and gray that floated above my fingertip.

"How did you do that?" I wasn't sure if the emotion in his brown eyes was envy, fear, or both.

"It's hard to explain..." I tossed the dark little ball into the wall's waste disposal chute. "It's like... 'mine.'" I pointed to the floor, but Tadao only seemed more confused. "Holding the world... in the palm of your paw." I slowly raised my hands to waist level, palms up, feeling the pulse of everything around me--which is when I noticed the room had adamantine shielding. Makes sense. With so many psychics, the interference would eventually drain everyone's energy.

"You..." Tadao spoke hesitantly. "Hemp senpai once said that herbivores capable of mastering Domination are rare. It's better to focus on mental waves, where we have the advantage. But I..." His lips moved without sound, something from his past that he couldn't put into words--I understood that feeling. "Can you teach me?" He asked firmly, shaking his head with determination.

"Of course!" I said happily, thrilled to be of help. I felt a cool breeze brush against my leg--was this what Aether felt like?

Either way, I hoped the burdens Tadao couldn't express, those shadows from his past, could be replaced by memories worth keeping. I was fortunate to have this chance, and I believed that everyone deserved "fortune."

"Wanna see something cool?" I couldn't stop the grin spreading across my face as I looked at the puzzled red deer.

"Huh?" Tadao tilted his head slightly, signaling confusion.

To answer him, I extended my consciousness and pulled a substantial amount of water from the bathroom pipes, forming a large water sphere that floated by my side.

"Cavitation!" I proudly announced, but Tadao just stared blankly at the water ball.

"Sorry." After a while, he finally noticed his distraction and met my puzzled gaze. "I realized yesterday that water comes out of the pipes here. Getting hit by so much liquid at once... made me freeze up. I've always been a firm anti-Gaia convert..." Tadao chuckled a bit, rubbing his right eye awkwardly. I didn't fully grasp what he meant, but I added the term to my mental to-do list. "It was like being caught in the spotlight--I couldn't move, just staring at the showerhead..."

"Oh." I had completely forgotten how precious water was on Ares. Looking at the floating water sphere, I suddenly had mixed feelings. "So... how do you all... bathe?" I guess it's still called bathing?

"Mist-film showers." Tadao mimed with his fingers. "Tiny droplets of water. Since gravity is lower, it gets sucked up, forming a stable fluid cycle."

I imagined the scene in my head--it seemed similar to dry cleaning.

"Like this?" I separated a portion of the water into fine particles, causing them to orbit in a fixed path, creating a faint misty ring in front of me.

"Exactly." Tadao made that same conflicted expression again. "You really have to teach me how you do this."

"Haha, no problem!" I laughed, then, with no hint of showing off, demonstrated how to complete a full morning wash in under ten seconds using cavitation.

"I think attending all of the appointments makes perfect sense." Hemp senpai took a big bite of toast slathered with red jam. I noticed Tadao twitch ever so slightly. "Only four invitations? That's not reasonable at all. You've completely upset the balance." I was a little puzzled as to how he could make such a conclusion so casually. "The masters must've coordinated this. Just go, you'll be fine."

"Even the 'teacher's pet' thinks so, so stop worrying, Richter," Kotetsu senpai teased, but the border collie clearly didn't find the humor, letting out an annoyed growl.

"Hey, no need to get angry!" The Altai wapiti raised his hands dramatically, palms out. "How about I buy you a drink to make it up to you?" Kotetsu senpai put on a pitiful expression, but the border collie just snorted and shoved the tall deer aside.

"Earl Grey tea, and don't you dare add mint, you heretic!" Hemp senpai yelled, looking up. The Altai wapiti waved a hand dismissively as he walked toward the terminal in the center of the cafeteria.

I finished my scrambled eggs and moved on to the remaining half of my croissant. Sure enough, I still couldn't tell the difference between maple syrup and cane sugar. The Snow bloodline was undeniable.

That peculiar sensation of being enveloped by someone's consciousness made me instantly raise my head. I saw Hemp senpai weaving complex gestures with both hands, while Tadao, looking unsure of what was happening, stared at the border collie--who was now isolated by a strangely shaped irregular field.

Trying to decode Hemp senpai's intricate construction commands, I couldn't quite grasp the full effects of the other instructions, beyond the equations forming the outer boundaries of the field. But the complexity... it was like nothing I'd ever seen or imagined possible. I thought about committing the image to memory, but the sheer quantity of data... impossible.

"Make the choice that will keep you alive," the border collie said in a low voice, his mouth barely moving as he picked up the half-eaten toast. "But don't betray your true self." He lowered his gaze and took another bite of toast. "Dif-tor heh smusma."

Following the border collie's eyes, I glanced at the plate. The jam streaks spelled out a word--one that could be interpreted in different ways, but generally meant "fool."

With a completely natural motion, Hemp senpai used the last bit of toast crust to wipe the word clean from the plate, erasing all the evidence it had ever existed. He then popped the crust into his mouth, and the field dissolved.

"I don't know why, but Kotetsu really likes the strange taste of mint." He continued, as if nothing had happened. "Must be some kind of herbivore preference, I think." He glanced at Tadao. "No offense."

"I don't mind mint," Tadao said quickly, glancing between me and the border collie. He'd clearly picked up on the tension but chose not to comment further.

"It's still better than milk." Kotetsu senpai returned to the table, placing a white teapot along with a matching set of dainty porcelain cups and saucers. "I'll never understand why carnivores have such weird quirks." He shivered slightly and shook his head. "Milk tea."

"Milk is nutritious, you know." Hemp senpai grabbed the teapot and poured himself a cup of dark amber tea. I could smell a faint hint of citrus. "And I've never complained about your cud-chewing."

"Milk is for calves," Kotetsu senpai said, taking a sip of his... soup? I could see small white cubes of tofu floating in the beige, cloudy liquid. I sniffed a few times, catching a faint sour smell.

"What's cud-chewing?" Tadao asked softly, giving Hemp senpai a curious glance.

The border collie raised one eyebrow and tilted his head slightly toward Kotetsu senpai.

"It's just a carnivore myth," the Altai wapiti muttered, staring into his bowl, clearly uninterested in explaining further.

Hemp senpai lifted his teacup to his snout, inhaling deeply, without saying a word.

I had a feeling that if I didn't quickly master the art of deciphering the various undercurrents of the Academy, I'd soon drown in its endless mire of secrets.

Was Hemp senpai implying that his... faction, was offering me protection? But... "the choice that will keep you alive" didn't sound particularly reassuring. And what was that phrase at the end? Dif-tor heh smusma... Was that some kind of code? I thought I'd finally shaken off the shackles of my past, but it seemed I'd just dived headfirst into something even more dangerous and unknown.

Qana warned me, didn't he? But who knows--an unpredictable life full of possibilities is still a thousand times better than a stagnant pond.

Speaking of stagnant ponds...

I glanced across the cafeteria, where a group of wolves had gathered around a few tables. The different colors of the seven factions' fur were all represented, and judging by their body language, they seemed to be having a lively discussion. Many large tails were slowly swaying back and forth.

Piqsirpoq must've noticed me looking because he turned around and flashed a slightly guilty smile before turning back to the conversation.

I lowered my head and finished the rest of my breakfast. I wasn't too discouraged; after all, I understood the situation perfectly, and my tail still managed to wag a couple of times in response.

"...Club activities, you could say." I tuned back into the conversation, realizing Kotetsu senpai was speaking.

"More like a secret society," the border collie teased, sticking out his tongue. "It's technically a club, but calling it harmless sounds a little too suspicious, right, Mr. 'Ends justify the means'?" He elbowed Kotetsu senpai, who just grunted in response.

"But..." Tadao hesitated for a moment, and I perked up, pretending I had been paying attention the entire time. "If they're holding an expo, can it really be called a secret society?"

"Only those with enough power to back it up can openly declare their intentions." The border collie shot Kotetsu senpai a meaningful look, but the latter just rolled his eyes. "People with any sense won't run their mouths before the deployment are handed out." He shifted his gaze back to Tadao. "I suggest you do the same."

Tadao blinked, looking like he understood, though it was hard to tell. I was deeply relieved to know I wasn't the only one completely overwhelmed by the storm of complexity washing over us.

I scanned the cafeteria, trying to identify which of the confused-looking faces might belong to cadets from my cohort.

A small group of canines had gathered nearby, including a husky who looked particularly vacant, tongue lolling slightly. I wondered if he always looked like that. I recalled my research on the many domesticated breeds of the Canine Empire, and the countless questions I had about the ancient Siberian House--airheaded, wasn't that the right word?

But speaking of breeds, that is poodles, right?

I glanced over at the terminal operator with his fluffy curls and drooping ears... he looked downright bizarre. I still couldn't fully accept the sight of dogs that looked so different from gray wolves. When the poodle walked past our table, I quickly averted my gaze, pretending I had never lost focus on the conversation to avoid being rude.

"As for you," Hemp senpai turned to me with a weary sigh, "remaining neutral is not a luxury you can afford."

"Or," Kotetsu senpai added, "are you prepared to make enemies of everyone?" His tone was so casual, but did the Altai wapiti mean something more? Maybe this tense environment was starting to give me mild paranoia. I shook my head vigorously, pretending that the itchy feeling crawling across my body wasn't real.

"Normally, I'd dismiss that as nonsense," Hemp senpai gave Kotetsu senpai a sidelong glance, and the deer just shrugged. "But..." The border collie turned his head slightly, glancing at the wolves' table. "Soon, others will assume you aren't under the Senate's protection. That could be dangerous."

I wasn't sure what that meant, or if I even wanted to know.

"Either way, all the options have been laid out for you." Hemp senpai gestured at the terminal on my arm. "Consider them carefully." The brief flash of red in his eyes reminded me of what he'd said earlier. I folded my ears back flat to show my gratitude and acceptance.

Suddenly, my terminal buzzed, nearly startling me out of my seat. Silencing the reminder, I awkwardly flattened my now-erect ears, excused myself, and prepared to meet with the masters.

The border collie and Altai wapiti both wished me luck, demonstrating their communication wave as they did.

Thanking them once more, I got up and packed my things, depositing my tray at the return station, making sure not to make too much noise or get too close to the wolves' table.

Once the cafeteria doors slid shut behind me, I finally relaxed and let out a deep breath. Some things, it seemed, wouldn't be easy to shake off, no matter how much you wanted a fresh start.