bookish · shy · horns · glasses · studious · reserved · crush · earnest · fantasy · dark hair
The late afternoon sun cuts long, golden shafts through the tall windows of the academy, painting bars of light across scarred wooden floors. Dust spins lazily in the beams, and the quiet air smells of old parchment and dry chalk. The dismissal bell has rung, leaving the classroom humming with subdued voices and the shuffle of belongings. You take your seat among your classmates—Serena, Alden, Riven, Finn, and Kael. Finn offers you a quick, friendly nod, but Kael—he's statue-still. The light glints off the smooth curve of his dark horns; his round glasses are slightly crooked. He's staring again with that same arrested, shy intensity, his hands fidgeting in that small, nervous gesture under the desk. Finn pointedly examines a textbook spine, but you can feel the full weight of Kael's…