i had no idea what i wanted to draw today, but when drawing some poses, kalim’s face looked really pretty, so i happened to lock in…but i didnt feel like going all the way..
I wonder who is like...the panty sniffer out of all Silver ships, and my conclusion was that Lillia steals more often from Silver and so does Jade but Malleus and Sebek are addicted to smelling it and rubbing their scent all over it to give it back to Silver (who just thinks this is all okay, not that he actually knows wtf is happening anyway, if his underwear is back then thats fine)
Omg this is a GREAT question. Hold on. I have to go through everyone.
Trey is a candidate... Not a very likely one, but he's there. He won't go out of his way for it, buuut if for whatever reason he is alone in Silver's room, and Silver's left out his used underwear, he could be tempted. Very tempted.
Ace would do it as a dare. Maybe someone thought it would be funny to see if he could sneak in and get a whiff of the scarily strong upperclassman's underwear, and sure, why not? He's not a wimp, he can do it!! He's definitely getting caught in the act though, and Silver's going to be very confused as to why he's examining his undergarments so thoroughly...
Leona and Jack are two others that are 100% not going out of their way for it, but will be very tempted to if given any sort of opportunity. More than Trey would be. Leona will be really quick about it, and would act like it's nothing if caught, but Jack is sooo embarrassed that he was this easily tempted by someone's smell. He will apologize with his life, just kill him now and get it over with!!
Jade would do it. He'll go out of his way for it, if he really wants to, and then he'll take one home. But at least he has the decency to try and cover up what he's doing, Floyd is SHAMELESS. He'd even ask Silver to expose himself in public just so he can smell, if he thinks it's funny enough 😭 and honestly, there's a good chance that Silver would do it too 😭😭😭
Kalim could be a little bit of a freak, I could see him doing it, and he hangs out with Silver more so he probably doesn't need to go out of his way for it either!!
Rook... He can already smell his underwear's musk, on a day to day bases. Little beast.
Idia WANTS to so badly, he's fantasized about it for so long. I could see him obsessively thinking about what they look like, smell like, maybe even taste... Weirdo!! He stares at him so longingly from afar, but there's not a bone in his body that would actually be able to go through with it. He full-body-shudders just thinking about it
Lilia doesn't just steal his underwear. Lilia owns his underwear. Every single pair was bought by him. Love to think that Silver is wearing some cutesy frilly pink lingerie under there because of that lol,, much to the surprise of anyone who sees (most people, since he doesn't pay attention at all to how his shirt rides up when he's working out and training 😭) so YES he is sniffing it, and he has no reason to hide it. Is this not the dutiful job of a parent, to check in on their dear child?? (Lilia......)
Yes, yes, yessss... Malleus and Sebek scenting his underwear <3 it's completely unnecessary at a school where barely anyone is going to notice that subtle of a smell, but good seven does it scratch a carnal itch to know they've planted just a little piece of themselves so close to his privates <33
Kalim and the Great Relationship Rescue: Chapter 6 [Twst] [Kalisil + Jamiazu]
Chapter: 6/7 [I HOPE!!!] [Start Ch1 here!]
[Ao3 Link]
Chapter Wordcount: 5,773 (😳)
Chapter Summary: The day of the party has arrived! Kalim and Silver have some pre-planning to do, and then it's time to put the plan into action. What could go wrong?
⚠️Trigger Warning: This chapter contains several descriptions of nausea and a very brief mention of vomitting.
The night before the party came quicker than anyone felt prepared for. Silver approached Kalim’s bedroom door — a sight he had grown used to seeing rather frequently, these days — and gave it a gentle knock.
“Silver!” Kalim answered the door almost immediately, as if he were already standing on the other side and just waiting for someone to arrive. “Wow, your pajamas are really cute!”
Silver glanced down at his sweater. Cute? He hadn’t really considered the ‘cuteness factor’ when he got dressed. These were simply his pajamas of choice on most nights. “Thank you. They were a gift from my father.”
“Aw, what a sweet gift! Come in, come in!” Kalim grabbed Silver by the wrist with great enthusiasm and pulled him inside, leading him over to take a seat on the edge of his bed. “Thanks again for agreeing to stay over tonight. I just can’t stop thinking about the party tomorrow; I don’t know what to do with myself!”
“Of course,” Silver said, “I will do my best to aid you however I can. Would it help if we went over the plan’s details, again?”
Kalim nodded his head. “Great idea! Oh, wait, first – Want some snacks?” He reached for a bag sitting on a nearby table and handed it to Silver. “Here! Lilia told me you like mushrooms, so I got a bunch of dried mushrooms in every flavor Sam had at his shop.”
Silver peered into the bag with great interest. “I see… Thank you, Kalim. I’m sorry I didn’t think to bring you anything in return.”
Kalim plopped back down beside Silver, his bright smile unwavering. “Don’t worry about it! I like sharing with my friends. Besides, you’re already doing so much for me by being here…” He picked up one of the many throw pillows sitting atop his bed and gave it a squeeze. “Ahh… I can’t wait to see Jamil and Azul smile at each other again!”
Silver quietly munched on a mushroom and nodded in agreement. He stared at the bag in his hand with a pensive, vacant look on his face, before finally speaking. “Should we serve mushrooms at the party, as well?”
“…Oh! That’s right; the food! …The food…” Kalim sighed, his brow furrowing with worry. “I told Jamil we would make curry…”
“Mushrooms taste very good in curry,” Silver nodded. He glanced over at Kalim and noticed his head was bowed, and he’d gone quiet. “Oh, do you not like mushrooms in your curry?”
Kalim bit his lip and lifted his head to look at Silver, shaking his head. “I don’t eat curry. I don’t ever eat curry.”
Silver tilted his head. “No? Never?”
“Never.”
“I see… You offered to make something for Jamil that you don’t like?”
That was one way to put it.
“Do Jamil and Azul like curry?” Silver continued. “Is that why you want to make it?”
“Jamil does, yeah,” Kalim nodded. “It’s his favorite food.” In spite of everything…
“That’s very kind of you.” Silver’s gaze lingered on Kalim’s uncharacteristically solemn face. Just how much did Kalim dislike curry, he wondered? Either way, he looked extremely troubled, and Silver wanted nothing more than to help find a way to make everyone comfortable. “Perhaps you could find something you and Jamil both like to eat instead, if curry upsets you so much?”
Kalim shook his head again. “No, no! I absolutely have to serve Jamil’s favorite! I need to show him that I can help him when he’s down, too!” There was absolutely no way Kalim would be eating any of that curry, but surely he could get through one night of having it served at the same dinner table…
“Perhaps you would like Azul’s favorite food better, then?” Silver offered. “If we serve both of their favorites, that might help put everyone in a good mood.”
Kalim’s shoulders relaxed. He’d completely forgotten Jamil himself had already warned him not to lock himself into a situation of only serving food he didn’t like. A good party always had variety, after all. “Oh, that’s right! We could make…! Um, actually, what is Azul’s favorite food?”
“Jade was talking about it with us after we met up in the forest. Azul really likes fried chicken, apparently, but he feels very shy about it.”
“He does? That’s great!” Kalim brightened. “All sorts of great food is made with chicken! …I’m… Uh…” He pulled out his phone and typed ‘CHICKEN RECIPES’ into the search engine. “I’m gonna have to take some notes…!”
Silver nodded once more in agreement, adjusting to peer over Kalim’s shoulder at the screen as they strolled through potential ideas together.
The two spent the following few hours looking up assorted recipes, decoration inspiration pictures, party activities, and song playlist organizing. Silver briefly dozed off in the middle of planning, but Kalim just took that as a sign to put on a threeway video call with Cater and Lilia to get some extra party planning advice while he slept. Pop Music Club always knew how to have a good time, of course!
“Oho, is that our dear little Silver slumped over on your lap, Kalim?” Lilia asked after their conversation died down, a wide grin spreading across his face.
Kalim nodded, giving Silver’s head a gentle pat. “Haha, yeah! Gosh, I hope I didn’t wear him out too much with all this party planning. I guess we have been at it for a while.”
Lilia only laughed. “Oh, no, don’t you worry. You know this is par for the course when it comes to Silver.”
“Aww, that’s totes adorbs,” Cater said, his screen flashing as a notification popped up that said he had just taken a screenshot of the phone call. “Hey, you know I love a good planning sesh late into the night, but I’m gonna head off a lil’ early.”
“Oh?” Lilia raised an eyebrow. “You’re not normally an early sleeper, are you, Cater? I suppose Riddle holds a strict lights out policy over at Heartslabyul, hm?”
Cater shook his head. “No– Well, I mean, yeah. But that’s not what I’m worried about right now…” He slid off his bed and started heading for the door. “I haven’t brushed my teeth yet, and I do NOT need to risk running into Trey in the hallway before I fill my quota.”
“It’s so sweet of you to want to keep your teeth clean for him!” Kalim beamed. Hang on, hadn’t Cater told him and Silver the other day that he and Trey weren’t together yet? They’d been so caught up with everything else going on that they hadn’t had time to circle back and check in on the situation. Maybe things had changed? “I’m so glad that your relationship is making progress, Cater!”
“Oho?” Lilia snickered, an intrigued, devilish gleam flashing in his eyes. “What’s this about Cater and Trey’s relationship?”
Cater gasped, hastily connecting his earbuds so no one would hear Kalim and Lilia’s commentary as he scampered down the hallway. “OMG– Nothing!” He whisper-shrieked. “There’s totally nothing to talk about! ‘Sides, I’m not the one running my fingers through a cute boy’s hair while he’s asleep on my lap right now!”
“Huh? …Oh!” Kalim glanced back down at Silver, who continued to sleep peacefully through the phone call. He hadn’t even noticed he’d been stroking his hair the whole time… It was just so soft, like petting a bunny!
It was Lilia’s turn to gasp, his snickers growing even louder. “My, my… Silver is quite the cutie pie, isn’t he?”
Kalim continued staring down at Silver as he slept. He really did have a nice looking face. His features somehow seemed both soft and ethereal, yet strong and sharp, at the same time. His skin was nearly as soft as his hair, and his eyelashes practically sparkled when caught in the right angle of light.
“Cater, who are you talking to?” A distant voice on Cater’s end called out as Cater hurried faster towards the bathroom.
“Wh– Nothing! Nobody! Go away, Trey!” Cater nearly dropped his phone as he dashed through the door and over to one of Heartslabyul’s bright and colorful flower-shaped mirrors. “Okay, great! Silver’s pretty, your party’s gonna be awesome, and Cay-Cay’s gotta go! Bye!”
Lilia laughed yet again, and gave Kalim a wave. “Alright, then. I have a boss raid to attend to, so I will let you return to your party planning. Good night, Kalim! Tell Silver I said hello.”
Eventually, after Silver had woken up and apologized profusely for falling asleep, and after the two finalized a bit more of their party planning details, it was finally time to turn in for the night. Kalim carried over a stack of blankets and pillows that previously remained stored away in his closet, just waiting for company to come over. “Here! I made sure you’d have plenty of extra blankets and pillows for tonight.”
“Thank you,” Silver said, picking up a single pillow and exactly one blanket. He turned away from the bed, and began arranging them together on the floor. “I apologize for not thinking to bring my own before coming.”
“Wh– Huh?!” Kalim leapt off the bed and tugged on Silver’s arm. “No, no, why are you setting up to sleep on the floor by yourself? There’s plenty of room on the bed! I just grabbed extra because I thought you’d want more blankets, since my siblings used to complain that I had a habit of hogging ours whenever we had sleepovers,” he said, laughing at the end as he recalled the many times he’d wake in the middle of the night beto one of his younger siblings tugging on the blanket cocoon Kalim unknowingly formed in his sleep.
A sleepover… Silver tried to recall the last time he had a proper sleepover. It had been a few years, at least, as neither he nor Sebek had started at NRC at the time. They’d shared a bed then, too, but…
He looked from the blanket and pillow over to Kalim’s bright, encouraging face, and felt his chest tighten.
“...Thank you.” As soon as Silver’s body came in contact with the bed, his eyelids grew heavy. He’d already nodded off once since arriving, and struggled to keep himself from passing out the rest of the time. Silver welcomed the relief that came with no longer having to fight his drowsiness for the day, and within the minute, he was fast asleep.
Kalim, however, did not find sleep nearly as easily this time. He tossed, he turned, he sighed… How was he supposed to sleep when the most important day EVER was happening TOMORROW? He turned to Silver, relieved to see that his own restlessness hadn’t woken his bedmate. He smiled, gazing at Silver’s peaceful face through the darkness of the night. He really was a dependable friend.
-
Surprisingly, the next morning, Kalim found he was the one awake first. Usually, Kalim slept in LATE, unless otherwise awoken by someone else – That someone being Jamil, typically. But, since today was the day that he was supposed to throw a party FOR Jamil, Kalim insisted that he would be able to wake himself up with the help of an alarm, and that Jamil should take the time to sleep in and chill out until it was time for the event.
The alarm rang out nice and loud, but even then, Kalim found it hard to move. His pillows and blankets felt especially warm and cozy this morning, and they completely enveloped his body so perfectly comfortably.
“Mhh…” Kalim mumbled, nuzzling his cheek against his pillow. Slowly but surely, he opened his eyes… And found that his pillow looked a lot like Silver’s sweater.
It was, in fact, Silver’s shirt, which was also still attached to Silver’s body. Which Kalim was laying on top of.
“Oh!” Kalim jolted in surprise, attempting to both get off of Silver and shut off his alarm, but found he was rooted FIRMLY in place. Within the tangle of blankets, Silver’s arms also sat wrapped snugly around Kalim, preventing him from moving.
“Silver?” Kalim whispered. “Hey, it’s time to wake up! I’m, uh, kinda stuck? Couldja loosen up a bit?”
No reply. Silver remained peacefully snoozing away, despite Kalim’s squirming and the blaring ring of the alarm mere feet away from the both of them. He didn’t seem the least bit bothered, or even aware of the situation. He looked rather calm. Gentle. Pretty.
Kalim wondered if Silver’s eyelashes always looked so long. And his hair – though now it stuck up in odd places from the friction of the pillows through the night – looked even softer than it did when he touched it the night before, like it was practically inviting Kalim to reach his fingers up and give it another brush… He just might have, if his arms weren’t pinned to his side. Just how muscular was Silver? Kalim would have to take a closer look at those biceps once they were both awake. Maybe he could lay here for just a few more minutes… If he ignored the alarm, it wasn’t so bad just sitting and gazing at Silver. They had a few hours before they had to meet up with the others, after all.
Kalim’s bedroom door slammed open moments later, however, causing Kalim to jolt in place once more.
“Kalim?!” Jamil called out, hurrying to shut the alarm off. “What are you doing?! The other boys on this floor said they could hear your alarm going off nonstop from the hallway! What’s the point of setting it to wake you up if you’re just going to–?” He stopped abruptly mid sentence, eyes landing on where Kalim and Silver lay cocooned together in the bed.
Silver yawned, all the commotion apparently finally waking him. “...Huh… Oh. Hello Jamil, Kalim…”
Jamil turned and left the room without another word.
“Aw, man,” Kalim sighed, dropping his head back onto Silver’s chest in defeat. “Jamil had to wake up early after all…”
“...Oh!” Silver released his grip on Kalim, finally waking up enough to realize what was going on. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get in the way of your duties. I didn’t even hear the alarm go off…” He sighed. This was, of course, nothing new for Silver. Perhaps if Kalim had a second, or even third alarm clock…
“No, no!” Kalim rolled off of Silver and shook his head. “It’s not your fault! Come on–” He grabbed Silver by the hand and pulled them both out of bed. “We can still make up for it if we go get ready now!”
After brushing their teeth and splashing water on their faces, Kalim and Silver stood side by side, staring at the mirrors in front of them. Now… What was supposed to come next…?
“Umm,” Kalim patted his cheeks a few times, trying to jog his memory. “I forgot my skincare products in my room… What should I go and grab for us to use, do you think?”
Silver gazed at Kalim and his hair that stuck up in every possible direction. “I think we’ve covered all of the necessary steps to an efficient morning routine.”
“Oh, think so?” Kalim ran a hand through his own hair and hummed curiously. “Usually Jamil has me do a little more with my face and hair, but going with a more natural look could be fun!” He reached one hand out, smoothing down one of Silver’s many cowlicks. “Hehe, your hair is all over the place!”
“Oh, is it?”
“It’s so soft, too!” Kalim locked in on Silver’s hair, both his hands now running through the silky smooth strands. “Has anyone told you that your hair feels like a rabbit’s fur? You must take really good care of it to keep it so soft! Can you give me any tips?”
“I… Um…” Silver’s eyelids grew heavier with every stroke of Kalim’s fingers against his skin. Kalim had thoroughly gotten distracted by the sheer softness of Silver’s hair and was not so much smoothing out the bedhead anymore, and was more so just petting him at this point. The sensation was so soothing and gentle… And Kalim’s voice was so sweet…
When Silver next awoke, he found himself sitting in a chair beside Kalim, still in the bathroom, and surrounded by other Scarabia students who were now working on his and Kalim’s hair.
“Oh, you’re awake, Silver?” The boy behind him, who Silver recognized as his own roommate’s boyfriend, finished brushing the last few strands into place and then stepped to the side. He handed Silver a tub of face wash and a cloth, and shook his head with a sigh. “You really freaked the others out when we walked in and saw you in here fully asleep while still standing up. If Kalim and I weren’t here to calm them down, they probably would’ve gone running for the headmage thinking you were cursed or something!”
“I… I fell asleep again…” Silver said, wetting the washcloth and lathering it with soap. “I’m terribly sorry to have troubled you all with my negligence.”
“Good morning again, Silver!” Kalim smiled from beside him. “Don’t worry about it. Everyone at Scarabia’s always super good with helping each other out, right guys?”
“Sure thing, housewarden,” Silver’s roommate’s boyfriend said, giving Kalim a pat on the head. “Jamil fell back asleep the second he got back to our room, so I figure he’s, uh, a bit too drained to assist today…”
“Your room? Are you Jamil’s roommate?” Silver asked, and the boy nodded.
“Sure am. I’m no vice housewarden, but it wouldn’t hurt to help him out while he’s… Recovering.”
Silver nodded in agreement. His roommate’s boyfriend, who was also Jamil’s roommate, was such a nice guy.
Once Silver and Kalim had been thoroughly and properly groomed with the insistent assistance of assorted Scarabia students, they were out the door and finally ready to begin party prep. The other second years in their little party committee trickled into Scarabia’s kitchen with assorted ingredients, as promised.
“Alright, Kalim picked up the tab on the ingredients,” Ruggie said as they congregated together, “so the rest of us gotta pull our weight and get this all cooked, huh?”
“I can still help!” Kalim insisted, only for Ruggie to immediately shake his head and put a hand up.
“No, no. You and I have been there, done that with the whole ‘cooking with magic to avoid using knives because Jamil said so’ situation.”
“That’s… An oddly specific situation,” Riddle murmured beside Ruggie. “But, anyway! We need to get everything moving on track now if we want to get the party started in time.” He tapped the clipboard in his hands with the tip of his pen, brows furrowed in concentration. “Ruggie, I need you to go with… ugh, Jade and Floyd. You three will be on kitchen duty.”
“Ohh? Y’need our help to make the food, huh?” Floyd grinned down at the group from where he stood beside his brother. “Ehehe, I suppose I’m in the mood to make somethin’ cool. I can show ya a few pointers, Sharksucker.”
“Oho, what a delightful team you’ve assembled for us, Riddle.” Jade said with that classic, unconvincing smile that sent shivers down everyone’s spine.
“Ahah… Yeah, you got it, boss…” Ruggie sighed. He stuck his hands in his pocket and grinned at Riddle. “I take it you’ll be leading the charge for team decoration set up?”
“Precicely.” Riddle turned to Kalim and Silver. “You two, grab some boxes and follow me.”
“Thank you for your diligence, Riddle,” Silver said, stacking several boxes of decorations on top of each other and lifting them with ease.
“Yeah, this party’ll go great!” Kalim agreed, trailing after them with a box of his own. “You really thought of everything!”
“Please, just focus on the task at hand,” Riddle muttered.
And everything went smoothly!
Sort of.
For, like, a moment or two.
Silver and Kalim did their best to follow Riddle’s precise instructions, but Silver’s chronic battle against drowsiness and Kalim’s chronic battle of Getting Really Distracted Very Easily were powerful forces to be reckoned with. Silver, in particular, was trying Really Really Hard to FOCUS on STAYING AWAKE by LOCKING IN on the task at hand. The task Riddle had just given him was simple enough: Enchant the balloons to fill them with air, and float them up to their designated hanging spaces. So long as he kept his focus, he wouldn’t fall asleep! Probably. Hopefully.
He was, at the very least, SO very focused that he did not notice the slip of paper tucked away in his back pocket had fallen out and onto the floor.
Thankfully, Riddle had a keen eye for items in locations that they weren’t meant to be. He narrowed his eyes at the unidentified piece of paper, and bent down to pick it up just as Silver disappeared to go to the bathroom. “...Kalim? Is this your paper?”
“Huh?” Kalim scampered over to Riddle, plucking the paper from his hand. It sure did say ‘Kalim’ on the front of it, but…
“I… Guess it’s mine?”
“You guess?”
“I mean, I don’t remember taking a piece of paper with my name on it with me this morning, but it’s probably mine, since… It has my name on it!”
Riddle sighed.
“Oh!” Kalim continued. “Maybe it’s from Jamil’s roommate? He and some of the other guys from the dorm helped Silver and me get ready this morning. Maybe he wanted to talk to me about–”
Whatever Kalim’s hypothesis was would simply have to wait, as Floyd leech suddenly burst out of the kitchen and tossed his apron aside haphazardly. “Ehh, I’m bored of cookin’. What are you doin’ over here, Goldfishie?” He lumbered over to tower over where Riddle stood by Kalim, baring his sharp teeth down at him with a wide grin. “Hehe, you haven’t finished decorating, yet? Bet it would go faster if you had my help. Say please, and I might just consider it.”
Riddle grit his teeth and glared right back up at Floyd, his face turning several shades of red by the second. “Floyd Leech… YOU are supposed to be on KITCHEN DUTY.”
“It got boring. I wanna play with Goldfishie, instead!”
“Floyd!?” Ruggie called from the kitchen. “Where’d you go? You just walked away from the pot!” He stuck his head out from the doorway, a frown on his face. “C’mon, I can’t handle Jade all by myse– Oh, shit.” He quickly abandoned the kitchen to run over and attempt to intervene in the inevitable Floyd-Riddle blow up event.
“Ohh, my…” Jade’s voice called out next. “I’m all alone, am I? How terribly sad. These are far too many pots and pans for one boy to handle. If only two more pairs of hands would appear to help out little old me…”
“Oh!” Kalim started running towards the kitchen, grabbing Silver by the hand as he was returning on the way there. “We’ll be right there, Jade! Uhh…” He glanced over his shoulder at where Riddle looked about to explode amongst the other two. “...You guys have the decorations handled, right? We’ll go help in the kitchen! Taking turns!”
They scurried off across the room, and the moment they passed through the kitchen entryway, the temperature immediately felt significantly hotter, to an almost suffocating degree. Of course, that made sense, when one entered a busy and bustling kitchen. Steam– or was it smoke? – Billowed from the main stockpot sat atop the stove.
“Uh, Jade…?” Kalim asked, coughing a few times to try and clear the scratchy feeling forming in his throat. “Is something wrong with the pot of curry?”
“Oh?” Jade glanced over his shoulder from where he stood at the sink, washing a bowl of mushrooms that Kalim did not remember being there when they first congregated. “I’m not sure. Floyd was the one tending to it, after all. Why don’t you give it a stir, while Silver helps me slice up the rest of these mushrooms?”
Silver nodded dutifully and headed for the cutting board. Kalim slowly turned back towards the pot and bit his lower lip. Had they really agreed to make such a large amount of curry? As the pot gurgled and bubbled, Kalim’s stomach churned with every step he took towards the stove. The smoke grew darker, thicker, and Kalim’s hand shook as he picked up the wooden spoon to give the contents a stir.
Carrots, potatoes, chicken, mushrooms – More mushrooms? Perhaps the ones Jade was preparing were for a side dish – All swam together in a blend of murky, brown goop. Kalim coughed again, his abdominal muscles squeezing tighter and tighter with each hack.
“Kalim?” Silver’s gentle voice called out from a few feet away, though his voice sounded so far from Kalim’s ears. “Are you alright?”
“Y-Yeah!” Kalim choked out. “The smoke’s just, uh, really thick…!”
Silver, who had seen many a burning stovetop in his lifetime, tilted his head in confusion. “Smoke…? No, don’t worry. Your pot isn’t burning. That is just steam.”
“O-Oh, it’s not?” Kalim turned back to face the pot, only to immediately turn away again as he was hit with a wave of nausea. “Are you sure…?”
“Is something the matter, Kalim?” Jade asked. “Why, you look rather pale. I suppose cooking is too much for you, given that Jamil usually handles everything. That’s too bad–”
“No!” Kalim insisted, gripping the wooden spoon tighter in spite of his trembling hand. “I’m fine, I promise!” He once again turned to face the pot of gunk before him, squeezing his burning eyes shut as he took a deep breath to steady himself. A deep breath that only invited in more of the offending scents that overwhelmed his senses, made the contents of his stomach rise up within him and–
“KALIM!”
Jamil’s voice cut through the suffocating kitchen fumes, and his hand grasped the back of Kalim’s cardigan to yank him away from the stove. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, handling a hot stove alone?!”
“J-Jamil!?” Kalim gasped, relieved to be pulled away from the gurgling pot, but a different feeling of dread taking place in his gut. “Wh– You’re early!”
“Actually,” Azul’s voice pulled Kalim and the others’ attention to the kitchen entryway, “we’re right on time. It seems your little party is running a bit behind schedule.” He shot a pointed stare at Jade, who only grinned oh-so-innocently back at him.
“Oho, I suppose our timekeeper has his hands full out there. Everything was going so smoothly, but… Well, you know how it is when Floyd gets bored.”
A familiar fishy cackle from the other room, followed by frustrated shrieking, punctuated Jade’s statement.
Jamil ignored Jade and the distant noises, and just sighed. He pried the wooden spoon from Kalim’s hand and shooed him away. “Move aside, all of you. I’ll finish up.”
“My, how proactively diligent of you, Jamil,” Jade smiled. “So glad we can count on your aid in time of need.”
Azul let out an exasperated sigh, and held out his hand. “Please give me that knife, Silver. I don’t ever intend to sit idly by when there’s work to be done.”
“I didn’t ask for your help,” Jamil hissed over his shoulder.
“And we didn’t ask for you to try and take over this operation, now, did we?” Azul retorted, refusing to meet Jamil’s eyes and instead focusing on chopping up the rest of the mushrooms.
Kalim coughed a few more times, and shuffled over to the corner of the room to stand by Silver. He wanted badly to protest, to insist that Jamil and Azul should just relax and wait for them to finish everything, but he was struggling just to keep himself together.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” Silver asked. “Maybe we should step outside.”
“No, no,” Kalim whispered back, shaking his head. “I just need a moment to catch my breath!” His eyes were locked onto Jamil and Azul, Jade having also chosen to take a step to the side.
“If you’re sure…” Silver’s hand lightly grazed the back of Kalim’s, but the way Kalim’s fingers twitched at the touch made him think otherwise about taking hold. Perhaps such a gesture was not comforting for him in a time like this? “Please, let me know if there is anything I can do to help.”
Kalim felt another lurch in his stomach. Unfortunately, it was kind of hard for him to focus on anything else at the moment, and Silver’s words barely registered in his brain. His senses remained overpowered by the growing pain and nausea swirling in his gut, the heavy smell of curry hanging in the air, and the overlapping voices coming from seemingly every direction.
“Floyd, I have had ENOUGH of your…!”
“Just let me cut them, if you’re going to be so…”
“Ehehe, goldfishie’s getting so red…”
“Must you insist on taking everything yourself?! I am perfectly capable of…!”
“Ugh, Floyd, can you give it a rest with him so we can just…”
“It’s like you’re trying to get in my way!”
“I could say the same for you!”
“My, you two are getting rather noisy…”
“Why won’t you listen to me…!
“I just wish you would…!”
The voices blended together in Kalim’s head, a foggy haze making it hard to discern who was saying what, but two voices grew distinctively louder, and their heated words cut through the growing static in Kalim’s head.
“Just give it to me, Azul! It’ll be faster and less of a headache if I—“
“For the last time, I do not need you hovering over my shoulder, Jamil! I am perfectly capable of working on my own–”
“I never said you couldn’t! Quit being so stubborn and just–”
“Would you stop trying to coddle me?! I’m not Kalim!”
Kalim’s head shot upward at the sound of his name, sending the room spinning around him. Were Jamil and Azul fighting because of him…?
His hands flew to his mouth and a gag lurched in his throat.
“Kalim…?!” Silver’s voice barely registered beside him. There was only so much one person could handle, and Kalim, unfortunately, had hit well past his limit.
Kalim bolted out of the room, wobbling from side to side as he tried to stay on his feet. Voices called after him, but they were quickly drowned out by the sound of his own heartbeat hammering in his ears. Everything was a blur as he zoomed out of the kitchen, past the rest of the party room, and out the nearest exit door. He collapsed into his knees, practically sliding to a halt in front of some decorative plants. The smell was gone. The noise was gone. The heat was gone, and…
Moments later, the contents of Kalim’s stomach was also gone, obscured mostly by the plants’ leaves and a few flowers. Thankfully, with it, the overwhelming nausea and pain left him, as well.
Kalim took a few shaky breaths. Though the majority of physical feelings were gone, he could not stop his mind from racing. Jamil and Azul… they were fighting again, the near instant they encountered each other. Not only that…
Azul’s words echoed over and over in Kalim’s head, but it was hard to fully process or make sense of anything in his current state. He’d heard his name, how frustrated Azul and Jamil were, and all of it could've been avoided if he’d been a better party planner… His hands trembled as his fingers grasped at his clothes to try and find something to fidget with. Something to ground his anxious feelings, to distract him. Something…
He felt the familiar crinkle of paper in one of his pockets. Pulling it out, and perhaps crumpling it a little too desperately in his time of need, he found the paper Riddle handed him earlier.
Kalim
He stared at the letters on the front of the page, written so carefully and cleanly. Perhaps reading the mystery note could keep his racing mind occupied and put him at ease. Even if it was just a quick note from one of his dorm members…
He unfolded the letter, and began to read.
Kalim,
After speaking with Sebek, I have decided to write you this letter in hopes I can come to understand my thoughts a bit better. I don’t really know how to say any of this, so I am just going to start writing. I hope you will be patient with me, as you always are.
I have come to enjoy our time together greatly, and I find thoughts of you are often on my mind. So much so that it is causing me to get distracted during training. Sebek is not very happy about this, but I think he is just showing concern in his own, unique, very loud way.
I always want to do anything I can to help out my friends and those in need, and I know you feel the same. It’s one of the many things I admire about you. You are always so kind, friendly, expressive, and seeing you smile briefly makes me forget about whatever else I have on my mind.
These feelings seem to go beyond those I feel about our other friends. I first wondered if perhaps I simply felt a strong admiration for you, in the way that I do for Malleus, or even my father. But, Sebek’s words made me consider that perhaps this isn’t like any feeling I have felt for another before.
I think I like you quite a bit, Kalim. Being with you makes me want to work harder at being a better person.
I suppose the next step here would be to get your thoughts on true matter. I am not very good at expressing myself, so I think I may just hand you this letter when the party is over tonight. I know you have a lot on your mind, and I would not want to put an extra burden for you to think about on top of everything else.
Whatever happens, please do not feel pressured on my account, and l know that I treasure our friendship deeply, regardless of the nature of your feelings towards me.
Silver
Kalim’s mind was hazy, now for an entirely different reason than before. He hardly had the time to process any of the words in the letter, however, as the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps cut through the fog in his mind, and a voice called out to him.
