Axil didn't wait for an invitation. He knocked once.
A sharp, playful rap and pushed the door open.
The room went silent.
The two teenagers inside scrambled to attention, eyes darting to the doorway. When they landed on Sila, the atmosphere shifted instantly.
Their expressions said it all: Are we cooked? It was one thing to talk about a "Half" in the abstract; it was another to see those glacial blue eyes and obsidian hair standing in their doorway.
"Alright, kids! Look alive!" Axil chirped, leaning against the doorframe. "Meet the final member of your trio. Introduce yourselves. Don't be shy."
The girl was first to recover. She stepped forward, and even Sila had to admit she was breathtaking. Tall, her maroon hair catching the dim light, eyes bottomless black, elegant and dangerous all at once.
"Katherine," she said, crossing her arms. "I joined two days ago. And just so we're clear, the big bed is mine."
She didn't wait for Sila to respond. Instead, she jerked her chin toward the boy sitting on the edge of the bunk bed.
He stood slowly, hunched just enough to look smaller, almost ethereal. Soft blue hair fell into his eyes, delicate features making him seem fragile.
"I'm Sunio," he said quietly. "I… I just joined today, too."
Sila's gaze flicked between them. The weight of their stares and the social cues everyone else seemed to know instinctively felt like a foreign language. His hand twitched, half-raised, before dropping back to his side.
"I'm Sila," he finally said.
Simple. Awkward. Heat crept up his neck.
Axil clapped his hands together, delighted. "Lovely! Now, remember what I told you. Don't be rude to Sila. I've worked to get him here."
Sila narrowed his eyes. "Earlier?"
So Axil had been preparing this. The playful officer was beginning to look more like a puppeteer.
"Normally," Axil continued, his grin sharpening, "the Vice Captain handles orientation missions, counting crates, patrolling empty streets, filing reports. Boring stuff. But he's out on a 'personal emergency.' Lucky you. Skip the nursery, straight to the playground."
Sila frowned. "Playground?"
"Lately, Tars have been restless," Axil said, stepping fully into the room. The temperature seemed to drop with him. "More sightings than usual. The brass ordered a synchronized sweep. Every first-timer goes to the outskirts today. You'll see other squads, just as green as you."
He paused, eyes sweeping over the three of them.
"But here's the important part. You've just met. That doesn't matter. This is a test of teamwork. I don't care how talented you are individually. I want to see how you coordinate under stress. Communication. Positioning. Trust. If one of you breaks formation, you all fail."
Sila's stomach tightened. Trust. Something he had never needed, not like this.
"And the outskirts of District 9?" Sunio whispered.
"Yes," Axil replied. "A stray Tar. Normally we wouldn't send fresh recruits after a real monster on day one. But extraordinary times."
His smile returned,bright and artificial.
"I'll supervise. I won't interfere unless necessary. Show me what you're worth."
The door clicked shut behind him.
Silence pressed against Sila's ears. The excitement of the new room evaporated.
"I… I can't do this," Sunio whispered, sitting on the bunk and staring at his shaking hands. "A real Tar? Already? My Stigma isn't even fully stabilized. We're going to die. I'm actually scared."
Katherine stood by the window, maroon hair stark against the gray walls. For a moment she said nothing. Then she exhaled slowly and turned.
"It'll be fine," she said. Not loud. Not mocking. Steady. "There's no way they'd let us die on day one. It would be a PR disaster for Headquarters. They'll have seniors watching from the shadows. Probably."
Sila leaned against the wall, watching birds glide over the manicured gardens below.
"She's right about the disaster part," he said quietly. "But pushing an entire intake into the field at once… it's inefficient. It doesn't make sense."
Katherine met his eyes. For a split second, the tension between them dissolved.
This is a trap.
"First time we've agreed on something," she muttered, a faint smirk tugging at her lips. Then she pointed at Sunio. "Get your bow. Now. If we're late, Axil will make us run to District 9. I heard he's a nightmare when annoyed."
Sunio wiped his eyes and reached under the bed, pulling out a long, sleek case. He opened it carefully.
Inside was a bow woven from pale, luminous material, like captured starlight. Beautiful. Precise. Deadly.
The hallway outside was chaos.
A river of black-and-gold uniforms flooded the corridor. Hundreds of recruits moved toward the lower levels, faces split between forced bravado and thinly veiled terror. The air felt thick, crowded with anxious breaths and the clatter of gear.
The transport bay was worse.
"Where's the Teleporter?" someone shouted near the front. "We were told a high-ranking Porter would bridge us to the districts!"
"They're making us take ground transports?!"
"This is ridiculous! District 9 is four hours away!"
Anger rippled through the crowd.
Sila stood in the center of the bay, unmoving, surrounded by noise and armored trucks that waited like silent beasts.
This wasn't orientation.
This was something else.
His eyes scanned the sea of recruits, searching for a flash of gold.
Axil.