Willow stared at the mirror, her fingers trailing over her smooth, unscarred neck. She had fallen asleep last night from sheer exhaustion, and now all she wanted was to get this over with.
She lifted the vial of Nex-9 to her lips but the moment the cold glass brushed them, a loud knock rattled the door.
"Willow! Come out! I want to do my makeup," Zira's urgent voice called, making Willow frown.
"Hey! Open up!" She knocked heavily this time. "I know you can hear me! Open up! I'm in a hurry here."
Willow's jaw clenched. "Hold on!"
Shoving the vial of Nex-9 deep into her jacket pocket, she opened the door to find Zira standing there with a small bag of makeup.
"What were you doing in there for so long?" Zira hissed, already brushing past her.
Willow stepped back into the room. Korra and Sage were gone already. She grabbed her tablet and scrolled through Navian's schedule for the day.
"Well, this is a lot," She muttered dryly.
Then she left for the cafeteria.
Just like yesterday, the place was packed with Ascendants and their Fodders most of whom were Enforcers. Not a single Dreg was in sight.
The moment she stepped in, eyes turned her way. By now, everyone in the third year had figured out she was Navian's Fodder.
She spotted him sitting in the corner of the room, away from everyone else. He was wearing his glasses and drinking a cup of coffee.
"You're very late today." His gaze met hers, then he nodded toward the second tray on his table. "I have no interest in knowing why. They almost ran out of this."
Willow blinked. He'd… ordered breakfast for her? That wasn't exactly in the Master–Fodder handbook.
She was very sure he knew what he was supposed to do and not do as a master. But he really didn't seem to care.
On her tray, there were pancakes and syrup. On his, there was a protein-heavy salad and coffee.
The strong smell of today's coffee tugged at a memory from her past life, when she had been hopelessly addicted to the stuff.
"Thank you," she said with a small smile. He just blinked at her in return.
Halfway through shoving a forkful of pancake into her mouth, she froze. "Oh yeah! I almost forgot."
Navian arched a brow, taking another slow sip of coffee. "What?"
"Your schedule today is brutal," she said around another bite. "You have History Management at 9 a.m., Mental Fortitude Training at 11, and after lunch, one-on-one combat training until 6 p.m."
"Hmm." He nodded, looking away. "Okay then."
Willow eyed him warily, then cleared her throat. His eyes slid back to her. She offered a sheepish smile.
"Uh… since you'll be gone from your room all day, between nine and six… could you loan it to me?"
Navian stared at her for a long moment, as though he was making sure he'd heard correctly. Then his lips twitched and his gaze returned to his salad, poking at it with his fork.
"That reminds me, I heard a thief broke into Ezrik's room yesterday," he said lightly. "Could it be that you plan to use my room to hide your loot?"
Willow gasped dramatically, pressing a hand to her chest, her eyes bulging. "Oh my... what?! He was robbed? Someone really had the audacity to rob Ezrik Veyne?"
"Hmm mmm." Navian bit his lip and shook his head. "I mean, I didn't think there were two people with that kind of audacity, but I do know there's one person who definitely does."
"Oh!" Willow let out a soft, nervous laugh. "What do you mean by that? Who's the person?"
Navian gave her an intense look with those cold eyes. She swallowed as he said softly, "I also heard he's going to get the restored footage soon. So… ticktock, pretty thief."
Willow's body went cold. Oh no! I really have to get out of here, fast.
Her mind raced. She could leave with the Nex-9 and take it once she was outside the academy… but what if security ran a full search? They'd confiscate everything, and that would delay her progress.
No. It was better to take it inside the Academy. If she was caught out of place afterward, she could just say she was overwhelmed by the Academy's structure.
"You can use it." Navian's voice cut into her thoughts sharply.
She blinked at him in surprise. "What?"
"But I won't give you my room card." He said. "If you can get yourself in, you can use the room. Think of it as… a reward."
The mischief dancing in his cold eyes made her want to scream but this was the only safe ticket she had to ingest Nex-9 without unnecessary drama.
So, she bowed her head with exaggerated formality. "Thank you, master."
Navian's lips twitched. He kept eating. Willow was entertaining and full of surprises, but he also wanted to see if she could be useful. If she was worth keeping.
After breakfast, they went their separate ways. Willow was happy to attend her classes, which were ending by mid day. After lunch, she had no more lessons for the day.
"Students, have you all started the foundations of your servers?" the professor asked as he walked into the class. "Ten points to those who have already begun."
Willow decided not to dwell on anything other than consuming Nex-9 and focused on the lectures. The hours crawled by, and her anticipation grew with every passing minute.
By the end of final class, her lips curled into a small, private smile. "My future awaits," she murmured under her breath, her heart racing.