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The hallways of Basgiath buzzed as students made their way to classes or training, but Garrick and Liam couldn’t help the amused glances they threw each other as they maneuvered a hefty, dark-wood armoire through the dormitory.
"Remind me again why we’re the ones hauling this thing up here?" Garrick huffed, shifting the weight on his shoulder.
"Because Sorrengail’s way too busy recovering from the absolute chaos she and Xaden caused last night, apparently," Liam replied, a smirk creeping onto his face. "You’d think they’d use restraint in the middle of a war college."
Garrick chuckled, shaking his head. "We’re talking about Xaden Riorson and Violet Sorrengail.- Speaking of them,” Garrick continued with a mischievous grin, “did you hear his nickname for Violet?" He paused as Liam shook his head 'no', "He calls her ‘Violence.’” He puffed out a breath as he rounded the corner, straining under the weight of the heavy armoire, wishing to Dune his signet could grant him strength.
Liam raised an eyebrow, a smirk spreading across his face. “‘Violence’? Seriously? That’s perfect.” He laughed, nearly breathless. “Better than the heartless viper.”
“Yeah... Cat was a real piece of work,” Garrick said, gasping for air. “Glad he dumped that Cat-astrophe.” He shot Liam a grin.
Liam's grip on the armoire nearly slipped as he huffed out a laugh. “Don’t make me laugh, or I’ll drop this on us,” he warned, his eyes sparkling with humor.
The two continued down the hall, passing a few curious cadets who snickered as they glanced at the cumbersome piece of furniture. By now, the rumor mill had churned out all sorts of exaggerated tales about the “incident” in Violet’s room, and it was clear that even furniture had fallen victim.
When they finally reached Violet’s door, Garrick set his end down, exhaling as he stretched his back. "So, I’m thinking, do we tell her what this thing went through before it got to her room?"
Liam’s eyes gleamed mischievously. "If you mean telling her about Riorson’s order this morning to take a new armoire to Violet’s room, definitely. He was all 'Just get it done, no questions about it,'” he said, putting on an exaggerated scowl, lowering his voice in a near-perfect imitation of Xaden.
Garrick cracked up, the laughter shaking his shoulders as he fought to steady the armoire again. "Violet’s going to have a field day with that."
Liam nodded, grinning as he helped lift the armoire again. "All’s fair in love, war, and… well, collateral damage."
Garrick and Liam, heaving and panting a bit from hauling the enormous armoire, finally propped it up against the wall where the old one had been. They both took a moment to admire their work, then exchanged a smirk.
“Hey, wait,” Liam muttered, inspecting the wood. “This… this isn’t a first-year armoire.”
Garrick squinted at the ornate carvings along the base. “Oh, you’re right. This is definitely for the third years. It’s got all the extra compartments.”
Liam grinned wickedly, his eyes sparking with mischief. “Think she’ll mind an upgrade?"
"Xaden might, though. Not to mention He’ll have to the paper work for this one if anyone finds out.” Garrick said leaning back catching his breath.
Liam examaned their work and patted the side of the airmor, “Hey, it's a little sturdier. Maybe they will keep this one in one piece?” he snickered.
As if on cue, Xaden himself rounded the corner, eyeing the armoire and then the two cadets with a mixture of irritation and exhaustion. “This isn’t what I asked for,” he muttered, though a trace of a smirk crossed his face.
"Oh, we know, Riorson," Garrick replied with a laugh, folding his arms. "Figured you two need an upgrade given the way you tore through the last one."
Xaden’s smirk faded slightly as he shot Garrick a hard look. “You know, it’s a real gift to be so unobservant,” he said dryly, raising an eyebrow. “You’d think it would come with a fucking warning label.”
But Liam cut in, clearly enjoying every second of the chance to mess with his foster brother. “So, what exactly happened? Some kind of… electrical mishap?” Liam raised his eyebrows, the implication unmistakable. “Was there, I dunno, lightning in the room?”
“Or sparks? Like, actual sparks?” Garrick piled on, his grin widening. “We’re not talking metaphorical here, right?”
Xaden sighed, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall. “We… might’ve gotten a little carried away,” he admitted, almost begrudgingly, as though confessing it required more strength than any battlefield skirmish. “Emotions got a bit… intense.”
Liam choked on his laughter, slapping a hand over his mouth to hide his reaction. “Intense, huh? That’s one way to put it,” he wheezed, clapping Garrick on the shoulder. “Must’ve been some intense storm.”
“Yeah, and here I thought you were a master of subtlety and control,” Garrick added, feigning a thoughtful look. “But I guess you’ll just have to leave that to the professionals.”
Xaden leveled a withering glare at them, though they could tell he was fighting back a smile. “Would you two like me to explain to housing how a third-year armoire ended up in a first-year’s room?”
"That's your job not ours" Liam grined.
"Violet will notice" Xaden said flatly.
Garrick laughed, still barely holding it together. “Something tells me she’ll be a little too busy thanking you to care.”
Xaden gave up trying to look annoyed, a grudging grin finally breaking through as he leaned against the door frame shaking his head at the two.
Just make sure this one stays standing,” Garrick, voice low but with hint of teasing that Liam and Xaden couldn’t miss.
“Don’t worry, Xaden,” Liam called after him, unable to resist one last jibe. “Next time, we’ll bring you and Violet something a little more fireproof instead.”
Xaden turned back to them, eyebrows raised and a dangerous glint in his eye. “Mess with Violet about this,” he warned, “and I’ll make sure you two are on winter patrols for the rest of the year.”
Both Liam and Garrick immediately blanched. Winter shifts were the stuff of nightmares—frigid, miserable, and often endless. Not to mention the dragons complaining. The mere mention was usually enough to straighten any cadet’s spine. But they couldn’t let Xaden off that easily.
“Oh, please,” Garrick scoffed, recovering first. “We’d rather brave the winter blizzards than get caught in the… lightning storms you two keep brewing up.”
“Yeah, maybe dial it down next time,” Liam chimed in, grinning. “Or at least work on the subtlety. The whole barracks doesn’t need to feel the… sparks.”
Xaden rolled his eyes, but his mouth twitched, caught somewhere between irritation and amusement. “Subtlety?” he echoed, barely holding back a laugh. “Sure. And I’ll give you a demonstration of subtle if you two don’t shut it.”
Garrick raised his hands in mock surrender, chuckling. “Alright, alright! No teasing her. We’re not risking winter shifts over this.”
"-Or our heads" Liam muttered with a warm tone.
“Good call,” Xaden replied with a smirk.
“All jokes aside,” Garrick said, a playful glint in his eye, “should we steer clear of the ‘violence’ in this room?”
“Or should we be cautious of your room too?” Liam added, barely containing a laugh.
Xaden shot them a sharp middle finger his jaw ticking, before turning toward the door. “Stay away from the lightning,” he said with a grin they couldn’t see, shaking his head as he stepped outside, leaving Liam and Garrick snickering behind him.
As Xaden made his way down the hall, Garrick nudged Liam. “I’d say he’s got it bad.”
“Oh, he’s done for,” Liam replied, grinning. “And we’ll be right here to remind him every step of the way.”