Like most nights, Ahote had stayed up late reading, studying, and thinking. It was not unusual for him to be up at late hours, as he had many things boggling his mind that prevented him from sleeping. So, often times, many witnessed the boy at two extreme opposites when it came to his energy, either sleeping like a bear all day or never seeming to sleep for several days, and unfortunately, there was no 'in between'. Just this or that, and surprisingly, Ahote had been in very good health.
Over time, Ahote had turned the once empty and dirty room into its own spectacle. Several shelves that held several glass jars containing plants and insects, candles that lit the stone room with their soft lights, a desk, and several small bookshelves. Although the room seemed organized at face value, one who would live in these quarters would soon come to notice the scattered sheets of papers across the floors and desk and the subtle but notable smell of wax from the constant burning of scented candles. Ahote valued the smell of pine, a scent that could not be found on these cold and snow-covered mountains.
Ahote laid upside down from his bed, laying on his back while his waist laid against the wall and legs hung in the air, his neck hanging from the edge of the bed and raven black locks hanging down with it, exposing his smooth and spotless forehead and well-kept eyebrows. In the boy's hand was a thick book titled
Fiore: A History of Kings which thoroughly covered Fiore's government and how it changed the nation over time. Interesting, it was, but after Ahote realized he had been reading the same sentence several times without progress, he realized he was no longer focused and needed to put the book away.
"Well, isn't that something...?" He nodded to himself, satisfied with what knowledge he absorbed but not fascinated enough to make any sort of positive comment beside that. There was a lot of things the boy did not understand about the world he lived in, and did not seem to be told much about the foundations of their society by Sol or Famine, leaving him to explore the subjects on himself. Fortunately, Basilisk Fang had an extensive amount of books available to him, and from those books did he learn more about guilds, government, history, and more. This also included magic, and although there were many, if not more books covering magic than any other subject, Ahote simply read the basics of the subject before shelving it. Bad experiences with magic discouraged him from delving deeper into the subject.
Afterwards, Ahote would then flip himself right-side-up and crease the corner of the book to mark where he had left off, closed it, and returned it back to it's respective spot low on his bookshelf. With a deep breath and soft clap of the hands, the boy turned towards the exit of his room.
I'd ought to take a walk. Think that's what I'll do. he convinced himself before going through his wardrobe and pulling out a long-sleeved sweater, as not only did it get colder during this time of day, the large fireplace in the tavern did not circulate its heat throughout the entire fortress, leaving some places colder than others. However, this did not stop Ahote from walking around the castle from time to time and escaping the comfortable heat from his room, as the castle was large with a lot of walking space. That, and he also did not like exposing his prosthetic left arm outside his own privacy. He didn't like people commenting on it and reminding him of its origins. If anything, he would like to pretend it wasn't there.
The boy wore his favorite sweater, one made of wool and had designs and patterns of owl-faces on it. Although he had better sweaters, this one he favored, as not only did he enjoy this avian species, but it was a a foreign item that was given to him by the village at the foot of Mt. Hakobe.
Ahote exited his room, locking it, and ventured into the depths of the fortress. He found himself also going a certain path, or rather, going to the same destination: The Tavern, probably the warmest place in this fortress, and it included several facilities such as a kitchen and living space. In some way, he followed the warmth. Two metal fingers tapped the stone walls that enclosed him, keeping him safe from the overbearing cold outside, making a consistent, hard tapping noise that briefly echoed through the corridor.
Eventually, however, his tapping was accompanied by another kind of tapping. A softer tapping, a quieter tapping, another's tapping. He briefly suspected that it may be another member, but quickly dismissed the idea as most Basilisks were in their quarters at such an hour. Ahote frowned before quickly hastening his walk to the tavern in hopes of confronting the suspect. Of course, he could easily go summon his Father or Mother about the disturbance, but also wanted some confrontation as food for the mind to chew on instead of history of kings.
Quicker than expected, Ahote was able to close the distance between him and the stranger after hearing the soft words of 'excuse me' escape some feminine lips. His brows furrowed and peeked around the corner, discovering a cloaked person confronting a much taller, intimidating figure who he would later identify as Rain. She was as creepy as when he first met her, and instantly felt his stomach twist at the thought of 'talking' to her again.
Ahote turned from the corner and leaned against the wall, both crimson eyes locked on the cloaked stranger,
"What might you be doing at this hour? I haven't seen you around these halls before." Ahote asked in a hushed voice, curious as to the cloaked individual's previous whereabouts and reasoning.
![Senior [500]](https://i.imgur.com/Nmfn8cD.png)
![Novice [250]](https://i.imgur.com/lrYlde6.png)
![Master [1000]](https://i.imgur.com/AQXM4xC.png)
