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“This is stupid.” Alhaitham deadpanned as he glared at the offending hat in his hands bearing the crest of the Kshahrewar Darshan.
A few steps away, Kaveh was humming contentedly at his own reflection, nimble hands correcting the position of the hat on his head. Once he was satisfied, he stepped back to admire the look, which, admittedly, was not far off from his usual uniform considering the only change was the crest on the hat being Haravatat instead of Kshahrewar. Alhaitham sighed loudly, begrudgingly putting on the hat with the Kshahrewar crest on his head. It was a very small change, but he was sure that it would earn them looks from the other Akademiya students nevertheless.
It all started with a visit by one of the graduated Kshahrewar seniors to the dormitory. Kaveh had invited him to their room for advice and tips on one of his projects. That evening had been hell for Alhaitham, listening to their laughter seep through the walls, interrupting his study time. Annoyed, he went to the kitchen for a cup of water and coincidentally managed to listen to a part of their conversation where the senior was telling his blond roommate about his memories in the Akademiya dorms.
He should have known right then, when he saw how Kaveh’s eyes had lit up at the shenanigans that the senior was telling him about. He could have, somehow, cut the conversation short and save himself from his current predicament. Those same sparkly eyes were directed at him the same night, hands tugging at his uniform sleeve in an attempt to coax him into a game the senior had taught him.
If it was any other person, Alhaitham would surely have shut the idea down immediately. But this was Kaveh, and most crucially, his roommate. He was positive that a simple ‘no’ would not deter the blond scholar, and he refused to subject himself to deal with a whiny and sulky Kaveh. So, of course, the only correct course of action he could take at that moment was to reluctantly agree to the stupid game that was dubbed as the ‘Darshan Switch’.
The game, as the name indicated, was about switching Darshans between two students. It was played usually on leisure days (if any) as an attempt to escape the duties each student has tied to their respective Darshans. It sounded simple. The student had to act as part of the Darshan that they had to switch to for the duration that both parties had agreed to. To make it more fun, they could not mention their own Darshans or comment on things that are related to their Darshans or there will be a penalty. The penalty is decided by the players.
“There, we look great! Do you remember the rules?” Kaveh finally turned to face him, a satisfied grin on his face.
Sighing, Alhaitham nodded. He sometimes wondered if he had somehow offended an archon in his past life to have ended this way. When he was first enrolled in the institution, he was dead set on just finishing his education to get a respected job then live a simple life as a citizen of Sumeru. Instead of that though, he earned a frustrating roommate in the form of Kaveh whose main purpose in life seemed to be to annoy Alhaitham with all of his whimsical plans.
“There shouldn’t be a problem. Just a walk around Sumeru City, yes?”
“And the Grand Bazaar is a must!”
“Fine.”
Contrary to what he had initially thought, the walk around the city was not that bad, even if they did receive some questioning looks. That was to be expected, considering he was walking with one of the most famous (if not the most ) popular student of the Kshahrewar Darshan wearing a Haravatat crest. Some of the students who knew Kaveh stopped and talked to him for a while, asking what the change of wardrobe was about to which the blond senior excitedly explained the whole game. He made sure to adhere to the rules carefully though, making sure not to mention his own Darshan throughout the game.
At least those times allowed him to blend in the background. He was still in his first year of being an Akademiya student, and he was not one to mingle around so he was fairly unrecognisable to most of his peers, much less the seniors. Except for, of course, Kaveh who was assigned as his roommate, and people that he had met through him because the excitable ray of sunshine seemed to always have people around him which he loved to introduce his ‘cute junior roommate’ to. He was not one for socialising unnecessarily, but considering these people were in the Akademiya, he often took note of their names in case it would prove useful later.
Once Kaveh finished entertaining the sixth person to question their getup, he looked around as if searching for something. Figuring that he would be the type to get lost in a conversation with how excited he was, Alhaitham walked over from where he was resting against one of the trees, enjoying its shade.
“Are you hungry yet? It’s almost noon,” he muttered, startling the blond.
“Oh, there you are! Yeah, I’m pretty hungry. Let’s go to Lambad’s Tavern. I’m craving some of the Charcoal-Baked Ajilenakh Cake.”
“That hardly counts as a meal.”
Kaveh rolled his eyes. “I know. That’s dessert. I’ll order something else as the main course, geez.”
“Fine. Let’s go.”
“And to the Grand Bazaar right after?”
“Yes, whatever.”
The meal was a quick affair, with Kaveh being a regular at the tavern. Lambad had given them a warm welcome and an equally warm set of meals. Unsurprisingly, he had also taken notice of their switch, so Alhaitham had to go through the whole explanation by Kaveh again, paying attention merely to see if the senior was going to make a slip-up in his elaboration. The punishment he bore in mind had great benefits to him after all. If he had to play a stupid game, might as well try his best to win it. But to the surprise of no one, Kaveh was competitive too so he had been cautious of his words the whole time.
After they were done with their meals, they headed towards what Kaveh called ‘the highlight of the day’. Much to the surprise of Alhaitham, he stopped at a stall selling old books and scrolls. He raised an eyebrow as Kaveh picked up one of the books and started flipping through the pages. His expression was mischievous before he trained it into a haughty look. It was then the junior realised that he was being impersonated. That was Kaveh’s interpretation of ‘Haravatat scholar’, as he had always described Alhaitham, cold and arrogant.
Alhaitham crossed his arms against his body, shaking his head lightly. He decided not to humour him and just walked away from the stall. It’s not often that he ventured into the Grand Bazaar. It was more of Kaveh’s scene than his, but that could be said about most places. Most of the time he went out of his room to places other than classes had been the times when the senior dragged him to ‘have fun’ after all. He had even boasted about being Alhaitham’s personal Sumeru tour guide in the first month he had been in the Akademiya. Well, he wasn’t wrong.
A light slap on his arm told him that said tour guide had caught up to him again, followed by complaints. Honestly, at that point, Alhaitham wondered what even was the point of the game anymore. Obviously, he would not fall for such little plots like what the blond had tried previously, and he was not going to do such an impersonation either, no matter how much he would like to win the game to reap the benefits.
“Oh wait, let’s stop here. I actually need a new quill.”
He let himself be pulled to one of the stalls, watching as Kaveh conversed with the seller about the quality of the quills. He leaned over as he realised something. “Minus point, only Kshahrewar students are picky about quills.”
Kaveh froze, glaring at him. “All scholars use quills , Haitham.”
“But only Kshahrewar use that specific one for art, senior Kaveh.”
“Fine. Now stop bothering me. I actually need to buy this.”
That actually made him feel quite triumphant. Perhaps the game was not that bad after all. He watched as the senior tested out a few of the quills on a small piece of parchment with a serious face. It was the expression he always had when it came to making art. Alhaitham considered pointing it out, but decided not to. He was at least quiet when he was focused and that meant a peaceful time in the dorm for Alhaitham. Once he was done trying a few quills, Kaveh finally decided on one. Absent-mindedly, he tucked the quill he chose at his ear to look for his pouch to pay for the transaction. Sighing, Alhaitham reached over and plucked it off.
“Minus one more point. That is a Kshahrewar habit,” and before he could retort, Alhaitham continued. “And that also is the reason you keep getting ink on your face. Stop it.”
Kaveh frowned. “Well, as you said, it’s a habit. I can’t just stop. ”
Alhaitham looked around and his gaze fell on a hair ornament on the next stall. It was a beautiful teal feather, rather alike with a quill, minus the inky tip. He quickly made the purchase needed before tucking the feather at the place the quill had previously been put. It was not much difference, but at least with a feather already there, there would be no place for a quill, and Alhaitham would no longer have to listen to complaints regarding the ink traces on his face, and occasionally, his hat.
Kaveh looked stunned, a hand reaching up to touch the feather. It was light, as a feather would be, but the weight was enough for him to note that there was something tucked there. It was no different than the feeling of a quill, the familiarity bringing some sort of relief to him. He couldn’t help the blush that coloured his cheeks. He never even noticed he had such a habit, but now the junior had even found a solution for him. He walked over to a mirror at the ornament stall. The feather didn’t look too shabby.
“It suits you. Perhaps it can also symbolise how proud you are.”
He turned towards the smirking junior with a huff. “Minus one for the symbol talk.”
“But thank you for the feather,” he muttered, before pushing past Alhaitham to complete his transaction of the quills he had chosen earlier.
Alhaitham smiled. “You’re welcome.”
The rest of the day went in a similar fashion. The junior had finally found his amusement in the game by teasing his senior as much as he could, particularly when a staff of the Zubayr theatre had approached them to ask Kaveh about his input on the decorations of their stage. The blond had looked so frustrated when Alhaitham cut in with an explanation of their game and decided to choose ridiculous decorations one after another just to piss him off. The staff had looked bewildered by the situation, but nevertheless played along. He figured he could just ask the (actual) Kshahrewar scholar another time.
As the sun started to set, the pair started their journey home, one happier than the other. If anyone were to guess who had come out as a winner from their game, it was too obvious. Even if it did not really show on his face, it was clear that Alhaitham was in a good mood while Kaveh seemed like there was a thunderous cloud on his head. Unlike how the day started, people were reluctant to approach them since the usually happy-go-lucky senior seemed to be in a bad mood.
Kaveh flopped onto his bed the moment they got into the room, groaning into his pillow. He was positive he could beat Alhaitham, but the junior had somehow beat him at his own game. He only looked up from his pillow when he heard the small creak of the bed at the other end of the room, signalling that his junior had sat on his own bed. He got up to sit properly, facing Alhaitham with a pout on his face.
“You can say it. What’s the punishment?”
Alhaitham raised an eyebrow at that. “So eager to be punished, senior Kaveh?”
Kaveh felt his face go up in flames for the nth time that day, taking the pillow beside him to throw at the smug junior who caught it perfectly.
“Hurry up. I just want to get this over with.”
“Hm? I like basking in my victory though.”
“You little-”
He jumped up from his bed, snatching the pillow from Alhaitham and whacked him with it. To his surprise, the junior started laughing which kind of ticked him off a little more. There was no resistance to the whacking so Kaveh let out most of his frustration with his junior there before he stopped and lied down next to him, panting. He looked to his left to see Alhaitham grinning at him, the mischievous sparkle in his eyes never dimmed down.
Kaveh was momentarily stunned, his heart skipping a beat. Wait what-
“I’m going to shower first!” He announced a bit too loudly before quickly getting up and beelining towards the bathroom.
“Your punishment is to clean the room, by the way, and keep it clean for at least two weeks,” Alhaitham stated, to which he stuck his tongue out at before slamming the bathroom door.
Cute.
.
.
.
The next morning, Kaveh put on his actual hat, somewhat relieved the game was over and the Kshahrewar crest was back on his head. He looked at the miscellaneous stuff on his desk, gaze finally resting on the feather hair ornament that had been given to him by his roommate. Without thinking much of it, he placed it behind his ear as it had been the day before. He had to admit it actually did suit him. He quickly added it to his morning routine list.
At the other end of the room, Alhaitham couldn’t help but smile as he saw Kaveh carefully set the position of the feather in his hair.