Get Your Mind On Your Studies, Boy! (open)

[Zarius Shine]

Fall 20, 512 Zip tried to concentrate, he really did. It wasn’t as if he didn’t like the subject, or the professor. Both were very much to his liking, anthropology being his chosen field, so to speak. Professor Sprague was both erudite and entertaining, though at the moment he was only being the former. The trade inventories that he was expounding upon were not the most stimulating subject, and made for infertile ground from which to cultivate a good joke or two. Zip realized, however, that it was sometimes from such humble writings that vivid pictures of a culture would emerge. Unfortunately, reels of corded rope were just not doing it for the young man, not on this day. The term was newly begun, and he should have been in fine fettle and high spirits. Working on a university education while having a limited income had so far required him to work a term and save, and then he could afford a class or two the next term. Being sat here in the lecture hall should have been a definite balm for his sore sensibilities. The wounds on his heart were still too fresh, though, and he was finding it hard to focus on the lecture, the topic or Professor Sprague. Instead, he was doodling with a pencil on the margin of the notebook page upon which he had faithfully copied somewhat unrefined renditions of the shorthand ledger markings that Sprague had drawn for the class to study. The tiny picture was of two birds, facing each other, or possibly facing off, one against the other. They looked like roosters, or peacocks, something with a large tail, at any rate. There were scrolls all about them, and some marks that gave the scene some motion. But what the birds were up to wasn’t entirely clear. Zip’s thoughts kept going to Simon, and that night, at the end of the Summer – all that had been said, and so much that hadn’t been. Accusations, recriminations, reprisals and that final word that had hung between them like an ice shard. Without realizing it, Zip had been holding his breath and at that final thought he let it go in a rather loud sigh. His blue eyes lifted and he saw that the person seated next to him at the long narrow lecture desk was looking at him, an odd expression on their face. With an apologetic look back, Zip dropped his eyes back to his notebook, where it finally registered exactly what he had been drawing. With his hand, he hastily covered it up.

[Kaidan Arianos]

Class had finished for him that day, and Kaidan made his way through the hallways of the university, papers in hand, as well as his backpack. So much going on, he thought, and not enough time to do it all in. He still needed to plan a trip outside of the city to study the deciduous forests that surrouned the mountains around Zeltiva, but that might have to wait until he was ready for what could possibly lurk outside of the city. Rushing through the hallways, on his way back to the dormitories, he couldn't help but hear a lecture going on in a nearby classroom. As he walked by, the sight of somebody in there caught his brown eyes, and they locked onto a certain violet blue hued eyes that happened to be within that lecture hall. Slowly slowing down as he passed it, he didn't see the oncoming larger man making his way running through the hallway, nearly barreling down everyone in sight. Unfortunately, his entrancement on what looked like a human with strange eye colors, was Kaidan's downfall. And fall certainly was what he did. The man barreled straight into the younger man, and slammed him out of the way. "Make way ya idiot!" he called out, and before Kaidan knew it, he was laying flat on his back, papers everywhere, and his eyes staring up at the ceiling. "What?" was the singular word that came out of his mouth, and before he knew it, the man that had been running down the hallways, was long gone, not even giving a care in the world for the younger man he had just pretty much ran over. Slowly pushing himself upwards from the ground, a sigh escaped his lips, and he began to gather his papers, eyes glancing back into the room, hoping nobody had really seen his catastrophic disaster of getting ran over in the University's hallways. Also, his head was now killing him from the good smack it had taken on the way down. That wasn't very helpful in trying to reorient himself...

[Zarius Shine]

Zip’s gaze had resettled on the lecturer, and he tried to refocus his mind on the topic under discussion as well. But he was just too distracted, and that caused him some anxiety. He couldn’t go through the whole term this way, he thought , unhappily. Beyond just getting his hard earned money’s worth out of his classes, it upset him to think that his inner emotional turmoil was going to cause him to miss out on the precious knowledge that he took so much enjoyment in, usually. This just wouldn’t do! Fidgeting restlessly on the wooden chair, his eyes flicked to the open door that led into the corridor. There seemed to be quite a bit of foot traffic passing back and forth, more distraction, and he wished someone had closed it. He was fairly near to it, and he was just gazing out, wondering if it would be possible to surreptitiously get up and do so, quietly and discretely, when it happened. One minute another student was walking past, slowly, and his eyes met Zip’ for a moment – just one of those coincidental contacts that one makes any number of times without meaning to really. The next moment, the guy was sprawled on the floor. The resounding smack with which the back of his head hit the hard wood actually made Zip wince. The far bigger man who had plowed into this unfortunate one made a gruff comment and moved quickly on. It was a wonder he didn’t trample the poor guy’s hand as well, or leg, or face. But at least he avoided doing that. The victim of the hit and run rather quickly sat up and began to reach for his now scattered things. His dark eyes darted into the lecture hall, and once again, Zip’s eyes met his, but this time Zip was caught blatantly staring. It was one of those instances where some people might have laughed. The pratfall was kind of comical. But he knew it had been painful as well, and probably a bit embarrassing too. He could totally empathize – it was the type of thing that seemed to happen to him on an annoyingly frequent basis. With a brief glance to Professor Sprague, who was droning on still, Zip made a quick decision. Slipping from his seat, he went to the door, stepping through and closing it behind him. Bending down, he reached for an escaped vial of ink, and then straightened and held out his hand towards the other student. “Need a hand up? Are you OK?” he asked, solicitously. “You have to be a little careful you know. The herds of wild buffalo in these parts can be a bit rambunctious. And sneaky.” He grinned. “They just come out of nowhere, and …blam!”

[Kaidan Arianos]

As Kaidan's eyes met with the student's again, he seemingly blushed. Oh no, somebody WAS watching! he thought, and even faster began to gather his things, his head still spinning. But then the other student got up, came over to him, shut the door behind him, and began to start help gathering his things. Flushing even more red, Kaidan turned his eyes towards him as he began to speak. "Er... ah... uhm... well, you see, I was just walking past the lecture hall, and noticed uhm... I don't know what I noticed, but suddenly I was on the ground, and my head is spinning, and well... er... yeah... I guess I could use a hand up," he stammered, slowly brushing himself off as he started to finish pushing himself up off of the ground, gathering his papers, and the ink he had dropped. Luckily nothing seemed to be really damaged save for his ego, but that was all it took for the man to be extremely embarrassed, especially when he had been distracted by such beautiful eyes. They were simply a color he had never seen before, and now... they had been staring at him. At him! He couldn't believe his foolishness of not paying attention when he was walking through the hallways of the university. It hadn't been the first time he had been ran over though, some students just didn't know what patience was, and were all too eager to ignore everyone else's problems but their own. Kaidan knew this, and even as patient as he was, he was starting to get irritated at his bad luck of getting ran over in the hallways of the university. Allowing his brown gaze to shift back towards the student that had helped him up, he couldn't help but gaze into his eyes again, and then stammer, "Oh... uhm, sorry, My name is Kaidan... Kaidan Arianos." It was a quick introduction, but the man was quite nervous, and didn't know what else to say other than who he was, and then thank the man for his assistance. "Th... thank you for your help, I appreciate it," he then said, a small smile shifting from the visible frown that had been there before...

[Zarius Shine]

The other student was visibly shaken up, but Zip could easily attribute that to having just been knocked down and smacking his head on the hard floor. It was a wonder the guy hadn’t blacked out. The student hurriedly gathered up the rest of his things, and took the hand Zip had extended, and was back up on his feet in the next moment, spluttering a line of explanations. Zip was looking at him, in an assessing way, with some aim towards determining if he really was alright. And for a brief moment, before he released the other’s hand, their eyes met again and Zip noted what seemed to be some amount of…embarrassment there, or shyness? Those dark eyes flickered away again and Zip put it all down to the same thing – feeling like an idiot for having been run over and knocked down. He felt for the guy, he really did. So he tried to put him at ease, and not make a big deal out of it – though that blow to the back of the guy’s head might warrant some continued observation over the next few hours. Zip was no physician, but he knew head injuries could be tricky. “Lucky for you – you must have a thick skull,” he said, in a light, teasing tone, hoping the guy would take it for the little joke that it was intended to be. Zip released his hand, and the student, Kaidan, introduced himself, and thanked him for his help. Zip smiled magnanimously. “Oh, no worries. It kind of gave me an excuse to get up. I was thinking about closing the door – it was kind of distracting, you know, all you good looking guys walking by.” He gave Aidan a wink and grinned, though he knew some men didn’t appreciate such comments. But that was just who he was and he never meant anything by it. So if someone took offense at a compliment, that was their problem, wasn’t it? Looking back over his shoulder briefly, at the now closed door, he then turned back to Aidan and said a bit wistfully, “I was having a hard time concentrating. Having a bit of a problem getting back into the swig of things, you know – new term and all that.” He paused, and then added in a rush, “Oh – I’m Zip. Well, Zarius really – Zarius Shine. But my friends call me Zip.” A slight crease of worry stroked down between his eye brows, as he asked, “Are you sure you’re alright? Your head hit that wood pretty damn hard. Even made me feel it! Do you think you should go to the infirmary or something? Get it checked out?”

[Kaidan Arianos]

All you good looking guys walking by. Did he really just say that? He considered Kaidan good looking? Because Kaidan never really thought that way about himself, he just thought he looked like he did, and looked normal, not really good looking. Blushing even more, and trying to straighten himself up a bit, he allowed his soft brown eyes to look down towards the ground briefly before turning back up towards the other student, named... Zip? That's how he introduced himself, Zarius Shine. Very interesting name, thought Kaidan, and his small smile broadened, as he tried to act natural, despite his head hurting. "I know I hit it hard, but it doesnt' feel like anything's broken... and besides, I've been told I have a thick skull before... must be true if that fall didn't break it," he said grinning playfully, trying to ignore the headache that now plagued the back of his skull. It would leave eventually, once he healed a bit. He wasn't sure how he felt about doctors and the like, he had never gotten really sick before in his life, and had been a fairly healthy child. But his mind quickly drifted back to the comment of "good looking men" walking by. Did Zip really think of him as a good looking man? and if so, what was Kaidan to think of it? He didn't quite know how to respond to that sort of comment. He had never had any interest in woman before, or men for that matter. Although, the more he looked towards Zip's eyes, the more they intrigued him. And his physique didn't look half bad at all. Did he find Zip attractive? Clearing the thoughts from his mind, he didn't want to offend the man that stood before him, and he thought that he might if he denied any advances the man might make. Wavering a bit with what he'd say next, he looked past Zip to the closed door of the lecture hall, and then allowed his eyes to drift back to meet Zip's once more. "Wh... what lecture was that?" he then asked, wondering what exactly Zip was studying at the university. "Are you sure you shouldn't be in there listening to the lecture rather than assisting with my incompetence?" he then queried, wondering what exactly Zip's motivation for assisting him was, as opposed to learning all he could from the lecture that was at hand. It was Zip's eyes that had caused Kaidan to stop his movement through the hallways, and even though he didn't blame Zip for it, a portion of him wondered how he had managed to get that distracted by another man's eyes. Maybe he was attracted to men more than women, only time would tell that much...

[Zarius Shine]

Kaidan didn’t seem to take any offense at Zip’s little teasing remark about having a thick skull. In fact, if anything, Kaidan seemed quite shy, though not in a stand-offish kind of way. Really he was kind of cute, with the color in his cheeks, and being able to laugh at himself. Zip knew that feeling – he’d done it often enough himself. Sometimes, life was just like that. Crazy things happened and you just had to kind of shrug it off. Well – sometimes you could do that. There were others times when the joke wasn’t funny, not at all, and the humiliation just went too deep. But, he wouldn’t think about that now. Here was a wonderful distraction, dropped almost right at his feet, though he was sorry that Kaidan had had to experience being run into like that. Still, Zip was glad to get a chance to meet someone new – someone nice, and friendly enough, though a bit bashful. It was kind of refreshing to be around someone who wasn’t acting like a complete tosser. Zip grinned back at Kaidan, but still felt compelled to be a bit of a mother hen. “Alright, well, just make sure you don’t fall asleep in like, the next few hours. Even thick skulls can get injured…I guess.” His lack of first aid knowledge left him wondering if in fact Kaidan was at any risk for anything more serious than a lump on the back of his head. As he didn’t know – and as the guy looked reasonably intelligent and could probably take care of himself – he figured he’d just leave it at that. Kaidan seemed to be looking at Zip, with an expression that Zip couldn’t quite decipher. But then he asked about Zips’ class, and his question made Zip laugh. “It was a history lecture, and yes, I should be, I guess. But…it’s more fun helping out incompetents with their dropped belongings. Makes me feel like I’ve done my good deed for the day.” He reached out and patted Kaidan’s arm lightly, again, just to make sure Kaidan knew that what he said was only in fun. “I’m glad you’re OK, though. I don’t think I could have packed you to the infirmary. It’s clear on the other side of the university.” Once again, Zip’s gaze went to the closed door, clearly thinking about the lecture he was missing. He turned his attention back to Kaidan and shrugged enigmatically. “I like history. I really do, though my specialty will be anthropology. But…” He smiled wistfully. “I guess I’m having a hard time concentrating. I really was getting ready to come close the door anyway – when you got clobbered.” He shrugged again. “You looked like you could use a hand. Sometimes things like that are more important than listening to a lecture about trade ledgers and rope.” “What are you studying?” he asked with a curious air. “Are you new this term? I don’t think I’ve seen you around.”

[Kaidan Arianos]

Smiling, he then said, "Don't worry, i'll be awake for awhile still. No reason to sleep during the daytime..." Turning his head from the closed door back to Zip, he listened to what all the young man was speaking about. So, he's learning about history? thought Kaidan, whom happened to be a botany major himself, nothing like history or anthropology as what Zip said he'd like to get into in the future. Nodding after he finished speaking, he then would answer Zip's question. "I'm actually a botany major, studying the plant life around Zeltiva, and the surrounding areas. My mother wanted me to go into magical theories, but I decided to learn about plants as that's where my interest lies i guess... I used to tend to a garden in her plot of land in Zeltiva, so I know the rudiments of caring for plants I guess you could say..." he said, looking towards Zip with obvious interest in his features. The touch to the arm didn't make Kaidan feel uncomfortable, but instead reassured him that Zip was only kidding around. "And to be honest, I'm glad you came out to assist me... It isn't the first time i've been knocked over... first time i've hit my head that hard, but not the first time i've been knocked over. I'm kind of clumsy, and have a habit of getting into people's way or not watching where i'm going and getting slammed by somebody... But no one's ever actually stopped to help me up before..." he said. "And yes, this is my first term here... And i've been knocked over two to three times now," he said laughing at himself. "I really do need to pay more attention, or put a shield up around myself or something in order to keep myself from slamming into people... I guess you could say i'm competent at shielding, as my mother taught me when I was younger. But magical theory never really interested me... save for some of the practical uses of it. Botany is where it's at in my mind, and i'm just glad the university actually offers courses in it..." When he finished speaking, his mind drifted back to the good looking guys comment, and he wondered for a moment. "So, see many good looking guys wandering past the classroom? Or was I especially good looking?" he asked curiously, and a bit hesitantly, brown eyes darting around to see if anyone else was watching the exchange of words between the two men. It wasn't that Kaidan was embarrassed by it, but rather, he was a bit worried of the consequences of what he might say in front of others. Last thing he needed was to get knocked around for expressing what could potentially be a life-long interest. "You don't have to answer that if you don't want to," he then said quickly as an afterthought, feeling it a bit inappropriate what he had just asked, worried that Zip might actually take offense to it, even though he was the one whom had brought it up to begin with...

[Zarius Shine]

“Botany?” Zip echoed, his eyebrows rising a bit. “That’s interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who was studying that. Maybe as there’s so little farm land around here. Though…I suppose there are way more types of plants than just the ones we eat.” He paused and frowned slightly, as if he was pondering that thought. “You and your mom are from here? Me too – born and raised. Lived with my parents until I began here.” He nodded, indicating the university in general. “Then I moved into the dorms.” Zip had noted that Kaidan hadn’t mentioned a father, so he didn’t ask after him, thinking that might dredge up sad memories, or unpleasant ones. Not all partners were remembered with fond and warm memories. He chuckled, as he went on to say, “I don’t have any magical skills myself. Not yet, anyway. I don’t really plan on studying them, here. But I did have a thought…about maybe in the future…well…” He came to a hesitant pause. Kaidan probably didn’t want to hear about his kooky ideas. Maybe some other time. That thought itself, that there might be another time, to speak with this guy, kind of made Zip feel better. He’d been so down these last few weeks that he’d forgotten almost what it was like to have just a normal conversation with another boy. Zip tried to cover that clumsy halt by adding, “Yeah, you might want to do something to keep your bones and organs intact. Have you ever thought about getting glasses?” He grinned. Pausing again, he looked at Kaidan, beginning to wonder if he might need to get somewhere, and that maybe he was detaining him from a class or something important. But Kaidan didn’t seem restless or antsy, so Zip concluded that, for the moment, he was OK with just standing here, chatting. Then, Kaidan posed a question that was really very unexpected, and Zip’s eyebrows rose again, but in good humor. When Kaidan made his disclaimer though, giving Zip an out, Zip shook his head, grinning. “Oh, I don’t mind answering. I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it.” His cornflower blue-violet eyes had an amused glint to them, but there was more in those depths as well. It was a candid, open look that he gave Kaidan, for generally speaking, Zip was usually pretty frank with people. He didn’t care for deception and being fake, and lately he had developed quite a distaste for people who lied their asses off. “Honestly? No, there are good looking guys around here, but it’s not like they’re falling out of the ceiling.” He grinned. “If you’re new though, maybe you should be the judge of what you see walking about – different strokes for different blokes, right?” Those thin shoulders shrugged again – Zips’ perennial sign for a casual acceptance of things. His head tilted a bit to the side and he swiped a stray lock of blonde behind his ear. “And you…yeah, I think you’re quite the handsome one.” His tone was lighthearted, but his expression didn’t look as if he was mocking Kaidan in any way. But then Zip smirked a bit and couldn’t help but add, “And so graceful.” Again his hand went out and he gripped Kaidan’s arm lightly and briefly. “I’m just kidding. We all have our moments. Me? I’ve had plenty, trust me.” His smirk had eased into a warmer smile, and he asked, “How about you? Seen anything that’s piqued your interest since you’ve begun here? Any pretty faces that have caught your eye?”

[Kaidan Arianos]

Getting glasses, that made Kaidan smile as he looked towards Zip with interest. "Perhaps glasses would help my cause, but i'd probably end up breaking them somehow..." he said, briefly, before the conversation moved on into a different direction, that of handsome men, and things that might have caught Kaidan's eyes. Anything that had caught Kaidan's eye? Well, his eyes had certainly caught Zip's beautifully colored eyes. That was certainly one thing that had caught his eyes, plus the physique that piqued Kaidan's interest, even though he had never really had an eye for men or woman. But, well, maybe he should take a dive into the unknown? What's the worse that could happen? he gets shot down? It's definitely possible, but then again, who knows what would happen. He had never been with anyone closely, relationship wise, besides his small family, which seemed to be getting smaller by the year, and maybe it was time that he started? So, he'd take a dive into the unknown, and chose the dangerous side of things for once in his lifetime. "The only thing that has truly caught my eye since i've been hear are how beautiful you're eyes are," he said smoothly. "I've never met anyone with more beautiful eyes, the vivid colors that contrast within them... entrancing." This was all new territory for him, so as he spoke, he seemed a bit nervous in what he was saying, although when he did speak, his eyes never left the sight of Zip's own eyes. He had never been attracted to much, but there was something about this man, in his eyes that attracted him, and made him feel a bit flush when he was speaking with him. He couldn't well place it, as he'd never felt it about anyone before, but after the embarrassing spill he took, and the way the man helped him up nonchalantly, just really gave Kaidan a great feeling on the inside. "I don't mean to make you feel nervous either... i've just never seen that color in someone's eyes, and well... it intrigues me, let's just say that," he then said, and wondered and hoped that he had not offended the man in any way, being entirely truthful with him about how he felt about the color of the man's eyes. They were simply very attractive, and aesthetically pleasing, something that Kaidan really looked towards. Probably the same reason he was attracted to plants and flowers that were aesthetically pleasing, all the same, roses, carnations, and other flowers that had beautiful hues of coloring upon them...