Taryn spoke fairly calmly with a little bit of cheer in his voice, unlike the others in the room, he personally didn't believe Kael had been the one to cause the death of Dren–who unknown to Kael, had only just joined the squad of elites known as the Wraith Squadron, hence Dren's phantom Name was Wraith Six, he was the seventh member–Taryn preferred to find out the truth himself over believing rumours with barely any backing to them.
"I don't believe you're to blame Kael."
Taryn's words were soft yet somewhat sophisticated, unexpected of someone at his age, they struck Kael deep–it was the first time he'd ever heard those words before, he never knew how much he needed to hear them.
Kael looked up at Taryn, his eyes lit up, someone finally didn't see him as a villain–aside from Silas ofcourse.
"Really?"
"If it's actually proven you are to blame, Kael, then that will change, but for now, yes, really."
Taryn was not only intelligent, but also perceptive, he'd been watching Kael the whole time he spoke and could tell something was bothering him, he had an assumption that it could've been to do with the rumour of Dren's death that had spread all throughout the barracks. Taryn's hypothesis was proven correct when the dispute between Lyra and Kael took place.
Kael's mood had been slightly lifted, although it hadn't been his doing that Taryn chose to believe him.
"I guess I can't blame you then, that's fair enough"
As Kael and Taryn's conversation continued, Silas got up from where he was sat and began to talk to the other platoon members in the room. Time passed quickly and before anyone realised it, The Captain re-entered the room, the clock had just struck 12 meaning it was time for the lunch break, usually there would be a morning training session but that was replaced by the arrival of Silas and Kael to the platoon.
"Have you all acquainted yourselves with your new teammates?"
Thorn spoke with power, but there was also hope in his voice. Kael liked to believe Thorn was also on the side that believed Dren wasn't dead, and that Kael wasn't to blame for the disappearance, but Thorn had also never spoken about it.
The room went silent for a few seconds, whilst everyone had spoken to Silas during Taryn and Kael's conversation–no one had been bothered to speak to Kael other than Taryn.
Then everyone in the room nodded, they were lying, even though only Silas and Taryn had spoken to Kael.
"Good, As you all already know, it's your lunch break, after lunch, we'll be doing extra vigorous training to make up for what was missed this morning."
Thorn was a strict captain, he wasn't particularly liked by his platoon due to this but they still respected him , he was a strong captain and fighter.
As Thorn left the room, after making his unintentionally upsetting announcement–to Kael at least–everyone quickly stood up and left the room in a hurry, some even running to the door, with Lyra as an exception, she calmly walked out of the room. Kael stood up and then swiftly realised he didn't know where the cafeteria was, Silas was also in a similar situation.
Taryn was about to leave the room when he noticed Silas and Kael standing side-by-side looking completely lost.
"You don't know where our cafeteria is, do you?"
Both Kael and Silas both shook their heads, each platoon had separate cafeterias, no one really knew what the purpose was but everyone had come to a similar conclusion that it was likely so it wouldn't be too cramped and noisy.
"Follow me then."
Taryn signalled the two over and waited as the quickly hurried to him, the walked out of the door into the muddy outdoors, buildings were not connected, likely to save money, as they walked in silence Kael felt slight drops of water hit his face, they quickly grew more frequent and before long it was completely raining, pouring as if they lived in a storm, rain was always like this.
Kael spoke on the topic, hoping to break the slightly awkward silence between the three, in reality Kael was the only one who thought it was awkward, he hadn't always been this way, not until he became the main one people blamed for Dren's disappearance.
"It's raining."
"Ya think so?"
Silas spoke with sarcasm, he always did, despite how sheltered he seemed to be, Kael could always tell.
"Yknow, it might be snowing."
Despite his sarcasm, Kaels tone of voice stayed stationary, with a soft smile growing on his lips however.
Taryn chuckled, his impression of Kael was improving, to Taryn, he didn't see Kael as the type to kill someone, let alone their own brother.
Taryn looked up, not because of the rain, but because he felt something, he didn't know what it was, but it was coming from above, like the eyes of some god.
"We should hurry up and get to the cafeteria before we get drenched more than we already are."
Silas speaks, making Taryn flinch slightly as he was lost in thought.
"Lead the way, Taryn."
For once, Kael felt he could speak freely when in the presence of someone other than Silas, albeit he still spoke with a cold tone, it was also somewhat soft too. He believes it's due to the fact that Taryn didn't judge him based on false rumours, but in reality, Taryn had a very comforting aura.
Taryn looked back at the two and gave them a soft smile.
"Alright then, let's get going."
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The three entered the cafeteria later than everyone else, the room was lined with tables that could seat 4 people per table. There were 4 of these tables in the room. The cafeteria was a lot smaller than the one they had as cadets, likely due to the fact that there were a lot more cadets in the group than people in the 73rd Platoon. The room was deafening due to the amount of people chattering between themselves and eating as they had already got their food. The room smelled of cooked beef and one look at Seran's plate showed that was the case.
Kael led the way to the side opposite the entrance where there was a lady behind a counter, Kael assumed this is where you got your food, the counter was coated with asterine, a silvery metal obtained from mining, also known to be fairly expensive due to its durability and fashionable qualities. As they approached the counter, the lady handed them each a plate of food containing cooked beef, corn and a lot of lettuce, the smell and look of the food made it clear it was imported from the farmers in Sector Four of Drelmaar.
"So what do you think, Kael? Silas? Of the food I mean."
The three had sat down on an empty table, beside the table Seran was on, each table already had someone on it, the table to the right of the entrance had Seran Mark, Vex Alin and Tallis Wren, with Vex sneaking glances over the shoulder of Seran to look at Lyra, who sat alone on the table to the left of the entrance. Finally, on the table opposite Kael, there was sat Nira Halden, Kess Drehl, and Eryn Kaas.
"The food is great!"
Silas responded to Taryn's question whilst Kael had accidentally ignored it due to observing the room.
Kael could guess who was in who's friendgroup from this alignment of seats, which made Kael think.
"Taryn?"
"Hm? What is it?"
"Who would you usually eat with?"
Silas joins the conversation as Kael asks this.
"Oh yeah, you wouldn't have been eating with us since we just got here."
"I used to eat with Seran and his group."
"That makes sense."
Silas goes back to eating but Kael's gaze is subtly fixated on Lyra.
"Does she always eat alone?"
"Who?"
Taryn's head turns towards the table diagonal to theirs and looks at Lyra before looking back at Kael.
"Ohh Lyra, yeah, she usually keeps to herself, honestly i'd rarely heard her speak until she argued with you today which was a bit strange."
"Hm."
Kael goes back to eating his food, wondering why that was the case.
"Why did you two join us so late?"
Kael looks at Taryn once more, who was resting his head on his fist, propped up by his elbow and forearm.
"The rest of us have all been here at least a year, since most graduate when they turn 15."
Kael thinks to himself before speaking.
"I would've graduated when I turned 15. I aced everything."
Silas eats faster and pretends not to be listening.
"But between you and me, Silas failed the written exam two years in a row, but I decided to stick with him."
Despite currently being made fun of, Silas was happy, in such a short time Kael had found someone he could speak comfortably with, even if his tone still always sounded cold, it was soft too.
Taryn chuckled.
"You're a loyal friend I see."
Taryn goes back to his food.
——————————————————————————
Before long, Thorn opens the door, everyone has finished eating and the clock now reads 12:30.
He shouts across the cafeteria making sure everyone can here him.
"Everyone! It's time to begin your training for the day! Don't be late or i'll make you do extra!"
This threat weighed extra heavy as they were already having to do extra, everybody hurried again, except for Lyra who simply walked out of the room.