A crisp midday wind caressed Sindri’s brow as he sat amongst one of the many stone circles he had set up in the Academy grounds, perched on a tall boulder like some sort of curious spider, eyes wide and unblinking. Earlier in the day he had been tested against numerous other Fae of comparable skills, they had provided an interesting challenge, but even with the “Contract” binding his actions he had managed to defeat all of them by opening the doors of perception upon them and drowning their thoughts through his subtleties.

Now he was here, amidst the circle, observing, listening, tasting. 

He could smell the closeness of the Otherworld in such places, were the circles were aligned properly on specific points, but the doors remained closed to him infuriatingly, taunting him with the smells of paradise. One day he would be free from this dull illusory realm, free from the Demiurge and his puppets, free to live and breathe as he saw fit, he just required the gate, and the termination of the nightmarish “Contract” and his dreams would be complete. 

His eyes twitched and with lightning speed he turned to stare at a group of students, who upon seeing him immediately backed off on a different path in avoidance of him. 

They knew what he could do. 

Sindri made a noise half between a snarl and a giggle at them as they left. Such dull fabrications… he wished he could rend their false little minds apart and devour what remained… but the “Contract” forbade it. For a moment his mind flickered back to that night, what fun it had been! But then “she” had come and ruined it for him, the other one… and bound him to a deal. 

Casually he crawled sideways down the boulder he had been sitting on, sliding into the long grass around each like a panther. Slowly he made his way around each stone, touching the rough face of each with a long bony hand, feeling the grooves he had carved into each and the circular patterns which would in time open the way, yes… they were perfect. 

Soon… Soon.

For now however he would have to make do with the current situation, his stomach growled in annoyance, it was time for lunch. Making his way slowly through the academy grounds he passed a few other students, barely recognising their existence as they in turn gave him a wide berth as he glided his way through various paths to the main building. 

Eventually he entered the building through a portal into the ever clean and sterile innards of the monolith. His burgundy red suit and small red kufi cap creating a stark contrast to the white surroundings, he drew the attention of the few people in the corridor, who promptly ducked their heads down and continued past him, focusing intensely on the ground to avoid attracting his attention. 

After some time traversing the corridors of the facility, the crowds began to thicken and various delectable smells wafted through the air. With a push on a pair of double doors he entered the hall, drifting from place to place and listening to the happy babble of talk which continued to cloud out all noise around him. He didn’t much like being in places with this many people, too much noise, dulled the mind and denied his senses… he would leave if he could.

Collecting some plates he absentmindedly built up a menagerie of various foods, the cafeteria staff giving him odd looks at his choices he did so, but they didn’t intercede. A pile of conflicting foods soon collected across three plates, each one balanced precariously in his arms as he left, beef and pork contrasting with crab and lobster as well as smoked fish, and here and there portions of curry and other spiced foods. 

Peering about he realised he must have arrived relatively late into lunch, as the hall was considerably less full than it usually was, clearly second sitting. He passed a pair of nearby students and settled at a nearby vacant table with his food, hunching himself over like a vulture over his collection. He began with the crab, its hard shell was wonderful protection against hungry sea-life, but to Sindri’s capable hands it split apart like so much wet paper. He stripped the carcass quickly and efficiently, and ate the sweet tasting flesh quickly, but almost rat-like. Every few minutes he would pause and look around, sniffing the air as if to catch the scent of some predatory animal, watching for eyes that might stare at him.

Once or twice he thought he caught someone looking at him as he did so, but when his eyes turned they were always looking away.

He hated the staring of their eyes.

With the crab carcass gutted he moved on to the lobster, picking it apart with the same clean skilled efficiency he had with the other crustacean, occasionally pausing to wipe his hands on a host of nearby napkins. Halfway through he paused again and looked about, this time he was sure he caught someone watching…

His eyes flickered past her for a minute and then returned to look at her, he was sure she was the one that had been looking at him!

It was a woman in a Chinese dress, she had long hair knotted in a tight braid down her back, and was clearly of Japanese stock. The light skin colour suggested however, some European blood in her, of uncertain origin. He had seen her before, he was certain. She was the fox woman, like the Ikari… what were they called again? Kitsune? It didn’t matter, he was sure she was staring at him.

He didn’t like her staring at him, he didn’t like Kitsune either, they lied and stole and tricked people, he loathed liars and the Kitsune were some of the worst. He averted his gaze, his face contorting into a grimace or a smile of sorts as he wiped his hands and reached into his pockets, taking out a selection of small pocket watches and a repair kit. 

The pocket watches kept him calm around the others, kept him abiding the rules of the “Contract”, they made sure he was busy rather than focusing on the ever staring eyes of the others. One select watch was non functional, and with a series of quick motions he began to take it to pieces on the table and used a select group of tools to correct the malfunction, replacing some twisted gears and other parts with new brass workings, before making sure they moved correctly and rewinding the instrument. Sometimes these things were just very old watches, most of them from over six hundred years previously, or which had been made with his own hands. Other times he connected some of himself to the watches, gave them attributes they wouldn’t normally have had… some good, some bad. It depended on his mood.

He believed the other was still staring at him and his face twitched, going into momentary spasms as if hit by an electrical impulse before settling in a taunt smile. He began eating quickly between seeing to the other watches, causing the piles of food to decrease at an amazingly rapid speed, and without any sort of mess between mouthfuls.

After this he had sword practice, Slyphide rarely let him practice his powers in full except under her moderation, she knew what he might do if that slipped, she had to control his influence during duels otherwise… otherwise the incidents might begin again.

A passing group of heavyset students passed behind him laughing uproariously, making him twitch in the middle of a delicate operation, breaking a cog or two in the process. His face tensed for a moment and then he closed his eyes, and took a few deep, deep breaths, counting to ten. When he was sure he wouldn’t inflict mental torture on them in revenge, he saw to the repairs once more. 

When he was sure everything was properly set again in all his watches, he rewound them and then set them ticking once more, pausing momentarily to stare at the digital clock far above on one of the atrium walls in order to collect the time. With his main course finished, he returned to the lines in order to collect some dessert, a single slice of thick dark chocolate cake with a small silver spoon. Returning to his seat he began to savour the food, hunched over like a brooding raven in a hailstorm and looking nowhere but downwards at his food.

He began to consider what he would do after this, he had sword practice of course, but that was in an hour or so. He considered building another ring, but put such thoughts away, the Academy had a bad habit of destroying them if he made too many, and he had no need to attract their attention to his new ones. He had a few books he could read back in his room, but they were providing far more frustrating than helpful in his search for the latency between worlds. 

Finishing the slice, his eyes shot up again to stare at the woman once more, he was sure he had caught her that time. He eyed her curiously through large amber orbs, like a spider might whilst analysing a struggling fly in its web, interested but not entirely without some level of aggression beneath it all. His lips contorted into a slanted sort of smile, one half of his face remaining immobile whilst the other slid up into a twisted grin.

[i]What do you want?[/i] he wondered as he stared at her, before turning back to his plate in silent contemplation. He rose from his chair suddenly, and made his way passed the two of them, staring at the ground and striding quickly across the hall in almost unnatural movements, making his way towards the exit.

He hoped that they hadn’t noticed him.