and be human | {calypso/nico}
Aug 21, 2017 14:22:22 GMT -5
Post by admin dars on Aug 21, 2017 14:22:22 GMT -5
N I C O |
dust the dust up
off your shoulders
you’ll come round
and be h u m a n again
"And Mr. Davenport, welcome to your first day!"
First real day, anyhow. He had spent the last day on tour, following a girl named Aylin around like a lost puppy as he tried to familiarize himself with the estate. He was surprised by how much it felt like a compound. When he had first arrived, the wrought iron fences and the tall, Gothic towers had reminded him more of a castle, but the bleached walls and incessant artificial lighting put him in the interrogation room back in District Seven, where he had held his transfer interview a few weeks before.
The only sources of life came from those sitting around him, and a courtyard in the center of the estate, with a square acre of grass and exactly three oak trees, and neither the people nor the courtyard seemed particularly warm. It was like something was off just below the surface, built. Man-made.
Competitive.
"Take the seat behind Miss Leto," his professor said, nodding to a dark-haired girl who sat in the front row. "From what I understand, he droned, "she is the you of this institution."
Nico didn't know if he should grin or blush or hiss. Everyone seemed to shift uncomfortably, as if they weren't very happy with Calypso being the best, or perhaps as if they were annoyed that the professor was already putting him into the same category as her on his first day.
He took his seat, nodding to the girl as he passed her up.
"Alright, so today's case is an interesting one, and one that I helped solve when I was sitting in the very same seats you all are today." With a click of his remote, the blank screen behind him became a picture of a young woman, red hair, sun kissed skin. Very clearly born of the seas.
"Erica Whinn," the professor started, "But before we get any further, I'm going to pair you all up."
Nico felt a bitterness on his tongue. Partner work on the first day? It wasn't particularly how he had imagined this going. He hadn't ever been the biggest fan of group work in the first place— left too much room for his grades to pay consequences of another person's mistake.
He looked around the room, surveying his peers. The girl from the day before, Aylin, had mentioned being in the top ten on the list. He wouldn't have minded being paired with her. There was also a girl sitting on the far edge of the front row, with silver air and a seemingly permanently unimpressed expression that told him she was confident in what she could do.
Or—
He had only just looked directly in front of him at the girl when the professor called her name.
"Leto, you'll be with the greenie today."
He bit his bottom lip to keep himself from rolling his eyes. New to the facility? Yes. New to this? Far from it. It was true, most of what he had learned was more geared toward field work and being the perfect soldier, but that just essentially meant he was getting specialty career training, really. Combine that with his naturally investigative tendencies and his will to be the best and greenie became among the most undeserved nicknames for Nico Davenport.
Still, jaw clenched, he pulled his desk up next to the girl. Deja vu, and he was dragged all the way back to middle school. He could still see Ryder smiling at him as he tried his best to ignore him so colorfully, so vividly, that it was hard to believe it happened over four years ago. In those few, fleeting moments, Nico had never known that the boy sitting in front of him would soon become his best friend.
Flash forward a year, foot stepping on his chest as he tried to slow down his labored breathing. "It's Aspen, by the way," And he had coughed, "Nico," and then, "Do you mind taking your foot off of my chest now?"
Again, he hadn't had any idea what an impact that girl would have in his life, or how she would become one of the two people Nico found it too difficult to bid farewell to.
He looked at the girl next to him. Pretty. Younger than him. Clear eyes, clear skin, clear intentions. She was here to be the best. From what Nico heard, she was doing a good job of it.
Pity that he had shown up to ruin the ride.
"I'm Nico," he said simply, holding his hand out between them.
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