Day Before

Right after Lieutenant Banks dismissed the group, there was a little bit of chaos when they were going towards their dormitory.

Excitement hadn't died down and the group was much looking forward to their campaign. Casimir was seemingly lost in a world of his own. He walked quietly through the corridors as his fellow cadets speed past him, a cacophony of joyous shouts filling the atmosphere and disturbing its peace. Had they all lost their minds? Where they going was dangerous, did they not realise that?

Now that he had time and energy and that he wasn't sleepy, his mind naturally wandered back to the issue he had overheard yesterday about the "parallels". Not that there was much to think about, he was smart but he wasn't omniscient. There is not enough information for him to come to any conclusions. And even if he did come to conclusions, those conclusions would have a lot of loopholes and unexplained variables.

"Why am I even bothered by this, I'm a teenager, I'm supposed to have teenage thoughts."

Casimir was feeling even more agitated than when he had been trying to receive enlightenment not too long ago. Perhaps the influence of this origin is growing even more potent and influencing an array of his emotions.

Since they didn't have lectures, they were expected to begin preparations for the upcoming campaign. In the military, they would be allowed to communicate with their loved ones just before a campaign and the majority of the cadets between now supper would be doing just that. Since Casimir didn't have anyone to contact he decided he would continue with his own personal training.

The dance of Deidemia was not seeing much of a breakthrough so he put a pause on that. He would work on the form of his spear. The stalwart nature of the spear made it much easier to practise perhaps it was made that way to have their normal infantry equipped with an effective fighting style that was easy for even the least gifted warriors to learn. As he went over his steps and spear trusts and swings he began to contemplate what made fighting styles different in terms of movement. What did they try to accomplish?

Initially, at first glance, it was exceedingly difficult to tell two different weapon arts apart. However, he could tell their respective natures apart. Some weapon arts would be fast and deadly, others were misleading and tricky while some were simply sublime graceful and overbearingly pompous. Maybe understanding the nature of weapons and their arts would help him better understand where he was going wrong in the dance of Deidamia.

He was alone in their training facility hacking away at the air. The silence didn't bother him and he much preferred it to when the training sessions would be much more populous. Now the majority of the people were trying to access the military's communication system to send word and perhaps a greeting to their kin back home. Casimir didn't have kin but he thought maybe he should give the orphanage a call. it's not like they were terrible to him and he did not despise them at all. Perhaps the system's lack of more intimate settings in orphanages led him to not feel so much of an attachment to where he had been housed before he awakened.

"I don't even have a house yet."

He had also planned to buy a property with the military compensation they received. although not much, he could apply for a militant's loan. Officer Evelyn had told him that they usually offered those to graduates that came from backgrounds such as his, in order for them to settle within Cetsane society. Much of it was new to him but he was a quick learner in the end he understood how loans worked after several tries. He also planned to find some contracted work to fund the loan repayment and to purchase a few other things that qualified his assets.

'I owe Officer Evelyn a lot, maybe in the future and when I'm not a cadet I can buy her lunch. '

Casimir's thoughts went back to the task at hand which is training and for the remainder of the session did so quietly. Lunchtime came and went in the blink of an eye and soon supper arrived. He made his way towards the dining hall for dinner. When he arrived the dining hall was more populated than usual, not that he arrived late maybe more people arrived before him. he went and sat down let the table you usually sat at. Among the cadets, there had been an unspoken rule that one would sit at the table they occupied in the earliest days for the remainder of their military life.

When Casimir arrived the table was already occupied by three of its usual four, Casimir being the fourth who hadn't occupied it yet. Upon seeing her and her him, Michelle waved frantically and beamed an excellent smile in his direction. Oscar turned to look towards where Michelle was waving and so Casimir nodded in acknowledgment. Oliver only smiled warily, he looked tired. Casimir made his way to the table and joined his group. Michelle was the first to offer her greetings.

"Hey, Cass."

"Hello"

"We were just about to discuss the squad selection, it's already out I'm not sure if you've seen it... I doubt you have actually."

Casimir nodded silently, confirming Michelle's thoughts.

"I want my money, Oscar."

"Way to go Cass now I'm down fifty Dollars."

It seemed Oscar and Oliver had made a bet, and Oscar had lost. Casimir chuckled in amusement, if it weren't for his suspicions of Oliver he reckoned they would make a pretty good friend group, their personalities were all-around balanced and they got along pretty well for a bunch of strangers. Casimir didn't know much about Michelle or Oliver for that matter he usually spent his time with Oscar, and Michelle usually talked to Oscar as well, while Oliver spoke to each and every one for about the same amount.

If Life had been this simple for as long as it had been hard for Casimir, maybe he wouldn't have had such a rough time making friends and getting along with people of his age. However, life didn't usually go how we would like it to go. Casimir thought maybe he should loosen up a little, with a smile he joined the conversation.

"Apologies what have you guys been up to."