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The Cohen Icosahedron

Chapter 15

copyright comidacomida 2022

Kaiden was getting more and more comfortable being accompanied to class by a Viddin companion. While he had first been rather wary of how it would look or what people would think any reservations had long since been dispelled; he had no doubt that EVERYONE in class had a full understanding of what was going on so being shy about it was a lost cause. Hahn, walking so close to him with his shoulder pressed against Kaiden's thigh would have made him self-conscious as few days prior as the preceding weekend, but that was no longer the case; he strode forward happily, enjoying the closeness.

The young man headed to class, heedless of the stares or possible judgements made by those around him. He had a hand resting on the Viddin's neck, fingers engulfed in the feathers and playing idly with the leather collar. Hahn, for his part, was a proper companion: all smiles and fluffed-up feathers. He did, however, test the limits of propriety as they walked into the class room, speaking in a quiet (for a Viddin) voice "If you keep playing with my collar I may have to find a way to include it in our next romp, sexy little Zfielt'im."

Kaiden's unbidden blush provided stark proof to himself that he wasn't quite as immune to social impression as he'd first thought. Fortunately, as he looked around, he saw that the vast majority of the student population was more focused on their own activities than anyone arriving through the door. Giving Hahn a light bump with his hip, he gestured over to the study group's usual corner. "Let's... not block the entrance, okay?"

He realized too late the error of his word choice. Hahn offered a wide, beaky grin and a slight roll of his head; the Viddin equivalent to a wink. "You did not seem to mind me blocking your entrance last night, Takket'im."

They were much closer to their study group at that point, and Hahn was definitely not as quiet. Many gryphon eyes focused on them; there were a lot of inquisitive glances, many raised cowl-feathers, and at least one aghast expression-- from Prirn. Kaiden almost felt his heart stop, wondering just how critical a stare he might receive from Vetlyk but, as the Human looked to where the eagle/lion usually selected as his seat, he was surprised to see his classmate absent. Kytskir was able to answer his question without it being asked. "Vetlyk is not joining us today... Kawkikikik'im."

The inclusion of the 'im at the end of the honorific was not lost to Kaiden and, in fact, by all appearances seemed to be further accentuated by the gryphon's pause before saying it. The study group exploded into a Viddin-worthy cacophony of discussion at that point and, with only a handful of minutes to go until class began, the young man was starting to worry that they were creating a scene which would spill over into instruction time.

In true Plateau Earth fashion, however, they were able to conclude their council in a fraction of time it would have taken Humans. The end result challenged Kaiden's newfound comfort level as each and every one of his study group partners had selected their preferred description of Kaiden and, whether Takket, Kawkikikik, or Zfielt (or Hasst, in Tral's case), they all added the possessive 'im to the end. Sokkas, the reserved one of the group and the only one of Kaiden's study group who had not spent personal time with him was the one exception.

The group was not the least bit reluctant about throwing the terms around either and their casual use as the day proceeded earned them no small number of glances from the rest of the class. The levity continued throughout the morning with Kaiden having to work hard on keeping his study group focused on the lessons lest their corner turn into a socialization ring complete with discussions of what each of them had found to be 'the trick' to getting a response from him in a private situation. The situation got worse at lunch; Vetlyk showed up.

* * * * *

After the instructors signaled the hour long break to eat many of the class' gryphon students had gathered around Kaiden's group for one of the brain-numbing Viddin-chats that usually caused migraines in Humans. Kytskir had suggested that Kaiden go reserve a table for the study group and so he took the opening to escape while he could. Having chosen a larger table with a chair and Viddin lounge couches for the entirety of his study group, Kaiden selected a seafood and vegetable salad; he was a big time meat fan but most of the Plateau Earth meats were a little gamey and it started to overload the senses after too long so some fish and shellfish with greenery seemed like a good compromise.

Knowing that all of his study group would eat easily three times as fast as he, Kaiden had no qualms about starting before they arrived. He was a good portion of the way through his salad when Tral sat down beside him, the large Viddin leaning even closer, hunching over so he could rest his head on the Human's shoulder. "Are you enjoying lunch, Hasst'im?"

Kaiden couldn't help but glance around at the proximity of his companion; the other gryphons were just starting to trickle in, most of whom were the large Viddinire and Vidday since they usually got the the front of every line. Reaching up, the young man gave Tral's beak a gentle shove. "I am... and it's easier to eat if I can use my arm."

Hahn, who had snuck up behind Kaiden laid his head on the Human's other shoulder. "But I like using your arm too!" The statement could definitely have been a double entendre, but any doubt was completely removed when the Viddin added at a whisper "Especially your fingers at the end of it."

Giving both of his classmates a slight shove, Kaiden ran his fingers through his hair and let out a long breath and chose to steer into slightly more publicly acceptable topics. "Tral... don't you usually sit a little more to the right? That's normally where Nittik--"

The Viddian ocelot/kestrel peeked around Tral's bulk; Kaiden hadn't noticed that Nittik was actually resting on his enormous classmate's back. "Yep. I'm here too, Kawkikikik'im!"

As the rest of his study group gathered at the table it became readily apparent that they were collected on one portion of it surrounding him-- except for Sokkas, who was at the exact opposite end looking everywhere but at them. The leopard/vulture Viddinich looked as though he were above it all, or almost as embarrassed as Kaiden found himself feeling in that moment. It only got worse, however.

A Viddinur built similarly to Prirn but of a darker feather and lighter fur color passed behind Kaiden, the tip of a partially extended wing brushing across the back of his neck. "Let me know when you have an open study session, Kaiden... I may want to join you."

The young man felt his cheeks blush and he was just about to ask a question of his study group when Kytskir, sitting beside Hahn spoke up. "Hahn might have said you were better than his uncle..."

The burning sensation from Kaiden's blushing cheeks got worse; it was one thing for people to suppose but another entirely for things to be more than rumors. "Hahn, I--"

Another Viddinis passed by behind the Human, white tuft of his tail flicking against Kaiden's elbow. "Hens smaller than you have managed me... think you might be up to the challenge, Zfielt?"

Kaiden, whose mouth was already open to say something to Hahn couldn't force any words out after the obvious invitation. He had to redirect his comment but by the time his brain kicked in the flirting Viddin had already passed by. He was pulled in another direction however when a Viddinire Hen flicked him in the face with the tuft on the end of her leonine tail. "I must admit, I HAVE been a little curious... do not be a stranger, Kaiden."

To their credit, and Kaiden's study group rearranged around him to keep the rest of their Viddin classmates from gaining easy access to him. They all began talking among themselves and, despite the difficulty of following the conversation, the Human did manage to make out one of the comments, which was from Kytskir. "I told you it was not wise to advertise Kaiden's physical relationship with us."

Prirn's statement was also quite audible, but mostly because it was accompanied by a soft growl. "They are looking for a Jiyjah... Kaiden is more than that and they should not see him that way."

Hahn responded with some comment about there not being anything wrong with being a Jiyjah and his other classmates responded in various ways, but Kaiden found his eyes wandering to the only calm and collected individual at the table. Across the way, separate from the bunched up collection of Viddin was Sokkas, who mostly avoided staring as he finished off downing the small chunks of meet that had been on the platter before him. If nothing else, the Viddinich looked as if he were above it all, seemingly disinterested. It was helpful to focus on him if for no other reason than to help Kaiden tune the rest of it out.

Sokkas had always been distant. As the quietest and most reserved of the study group it was hard for Kaiden to know precisely where the gryphon stood on almost anything. The kind of Viddin to get things done without attracting too much attention to himself in word or deed, the only thing that really stood out at all was Sokkas' feather coloration, which was different than the normally white-and-black of most of his kind, who closely resembled the Bearded Vultures from Land Earth.

Sokkas' feathers were no different naturally but, Kaiden had learned, the quietest member of their study group dyed them. Sokkas' entire head was black, save for the feathers directly atop his head, which included a long streak of blue. It created a striking look when coupled with his dark-colored beak and the red skin surrounding his bright silver eyes. The reserved Viddin also dyed his fur; the normally white and golden and white fur disrupted by black spots was dramatically different on Sokkas; his fur was all raven black except for his spots which had meticulously and carefully bleached white.

Such fine 'art' was well beyond the scope of the Viddin and Kaiden had once thought that he must have hired Human to do it but, as he'd learned more, the young man began to suspect more Ilsit influence. Kaiden let his mind continue to wander along less personal concerns as his study group continued to interact all around him, but things went quiet the moment Sokkas' eyes opened a little wider and a distinct statement escaped his beak in a mellow-but-pointed tone. "Vetlyk is here."

Kaiden about-faced, following Sokkas' gaze toward the side entrance where, indeed, the regal-looking lion/eagle approached, walking their direction with a very displeased-looking expression on his beak. "Uh... guys?"

The nearly half-dozen voices talking over one another at the same time paused and numerous heads rotated in a variety of degrees to look toward the approaching Vidday. It was Nittik who spoke up at Vetlyk first. "There you are! Good thing too-- I don't think anyone was taking notes for you this morning."

Vetlyk stopped within a wing's length of the group, glancing first one way then the other at the collection of Viddin around Kaiden and then spoke in a dour, bored tone. "If you are all hanging off of Kaiden then he will not be able to finish his lunch. Humans need their hands for eating, remember?"

The newcomer stood as still as a statue, only his eyes moving to each Viddin in turn, watching them like a hawk (or eagle, in his case) until they withdrew from the Human. Tral, the only one larger than Vetlyk was the last to do so. "We are just enjoying his company."

Seeming to ignore Tral, Vetlyk took a step closer, addressing Kaiden. "You can finish your meal now, Classmate. Let me know if they continue bothering you."

Hahn stuck his head out, leaning past Kaiden. "Don't worry, Vetlyk, I wouldn't let Takket'im go hungry."

Viddin had an incredible capacity for sounds; they had a very deep low register and they could go into far higher a register than a professional Human singer. They had a plethora of calls, whistles, chirps, hoots, rumbles, growls and in some cases purrs, but one thing Viddin did not normally do around Humans was to roar. The one emerging from Vetlyk was certainly the only one Kaiden had ever heard, and he realized why: the sound was soul-quakingly frightening. The sound came out of nowhere, just as unexpected as the Vidday's next action: he bodily pounced Hahn, laying into him with both talons.

The entire world was spun upside down as the sudden assault sent everyone scattering. One of Vetlyk's hind legs caught Kaiden's chair, sending it sliding several feet across the floor away from the bedlam that resulted. The entire study group broke ranks, some scattering and some moving to interfere as Hahn squawked out in surprise and alarm. Vetlyk's talons descended time and time again, claws thankfully tucked up beneath the bony, scaled skin that bludgeoned the prone Viddinis time and time again.

The cries, shouts, roars, growls and squawks were so overwhelming that Kaiden could not track what was being said, but he was so surprised it probably wouldn't have registered anyway. Things didn't come into focus again until he heard a gunshot, followed by a very firm and very commanding Human voice. "Cease. Now!"

It took a second for the young man to bring everything back into focus again. He was standing, his chair having fallen mover, and he was flanked on one side by Prirn and the other by Sokkas. Tral was standing in front of him between him Vetlyk. It was Tral who was facing the lion/eagle at that point. "You need to calm down, Classmate... the Humans have their--"

Vetlyk had climbed off of Hahn at that point and turned to face Tral. "Do not preen my feathers, you Swan... you are as much to blame for this as any of them."

The term 'swan' was an insult to Viddin-- referring to an overly large bird with poor maneuverability in the air. It wasn't an exact translation since the creature most closely resembling swans of Land Earth did meet that description and the swans known by Humans were actually quite competent fliers. Tral didn't rise to the insult. "But YOU are the one in trouble, Classmate... I don't have a tranq sticking out of MY flank."

Vetlyk clacked his beak once, then ground it in annoyance. Glancing backward, the big gryphon gave his leg a shake, eyes focused on the fluffy green stabilizer tail piece. He looked back toward Tral, focusing, Kaiden noticed, on him instead. The young man imagined that he probably wore an expression of shock and alarm; whatever he did show obviously struck Vetlyk, as the Vidday looked far more concerned about Kaiden than the dart. "Classmate... I..."

Kaiden took a step forward when Vetlyk stumbled, barely catching himself with a talon; it was obvious that the sedative was taking effect. Tral reached out a foreleg, half-spreading a wing to keep him separate from the lion/eagle. "He needs to rest, Hasst."

The young man realized right away that Tral had not added the 'im onto the word. Although he could not see Vetlyk, his classmate's voice was decisive and obviously aimed at him. "Zfielt... you are nobody's. Make sure they... don't... forget that." The sound of the large gryphon collapsing to the floor signaled the end of the drama... or so Kaiden thought.

A security debriefing followed.

* * * * *

The study group was broken up and sent away to their respective apartments, all except for Kaiden, who was accompanied by one of the security guards to talk to one of the administrators. His guide said nothing until they arrived at the office in question. At that point he simply pointed to a chair next to the door beside it. "Wait here."

During his orientation at the Plateau Earth Unity Centre, Kaiden had received a walk through of the numerous administrative stations at the installation and he knew immediately that he was not seated outside the security office. Glancing up and over his shoulder, the young man saw the simple, unobtrusive plastic plaque which read 'Ethan Bromley, Head Integrator'. That realization immediately caused Kaiden to freeze up.

He didn't know Ethan specifically but he was very familiar with the title; each Centre had a small Integrator team, and each member of the elite group had at least ten years of experience with Other Earths and had to spend at least four years on two different worlds. Any applicants had to know at least four Human languages and three languages from Other Earths. Considering Kaiden was seated outside the office for the HEAD Integrator he didn't even want to imagine what kind of experiences the man behind the door had... well... experienced.

He didn't have to wait long to find out. A muffled call came from within, a sure sign that the door was definitely not made of flimsy stuff. "Heya? You out there, Kaiden? Come on in if ya are, mate."

Perhaps it was Kaiden's imagination, but the voice calling to him didn't have the weight of the years that the role would imply... in fact, Ethan sounded rather lively. Slowly creaking the door open and peeking in, the student was surprised to see a man no more than a handful of years older than himself. Ethan had a mop of off-blonde hair on his head. He was heavily tanned, making his white teeth shine especially bright as he smiled. In all ways, Kaiden thought he looked like the surfers all of the Hollywood videos portrayed in the late 1900 teen movies; it was not what he expected.

He lost track of the greeting Ethan offered, mind too busy trying to connect the 20-something guy in front of him with one of the highest ranking student-facing officers on staff. Somewhere in the back of his head Kaiden started connecting the accent he was hearing; it was faint from what was probably years of separation, but it was definitely... South African? No... English perhaps?

Eventually Ethan's casual banter rolled around to the point of the meeting. "So, anyways, mate, I'm flat out, but maybe ya could tell me about the punch-up that happened in the cafeteria this avro?"

It all clicked for Kaiden: Ethan was Australian. He had to restart his brain in order to answer the question. "You mean the fight? With, um... Vetlyk and Hahn?"

The Head Integrator circled around to take a seat at his desk and gestured to a chair near Kaiden. "Security's going off with all this... it'd really help me out if ya could gimme a better understanding of what went on."

Not wanting to be responsible for the social standing of his classmates, Kaiden was not entirely comfortable with providing in depth answers. "Nobody's going to get in trouble?"

Ethan offered a friendly smile, followed up by a wink. "No Wucka's, mate... just lookin' to get some info."

Something about the casual nature of the Integration Director helped Kaiden be a little more at ease. It wasn't long before he opened up, laying it all out include how he had been intimate with some of his classmates-- almost all of them, in fact. He also explained that they all seemed to be getting along okay until lunch. He concluded with his own opinion on the matter. "I think it may have had something to do with Hahn calling me Takket'im. It was just a game they were all playing, but Vetlyk really took offense to it."

The Integration Director took his feet off of his desk and sat up in his chair. "Well that bloody says it all right there."

Kaiden sat up a little straighter too. "I thought everything would be fine... we had it all worked out, or I THOUGHT we did. They were doing fine with the HuuStook and I don't know where we went wrong."

Ethan let out a single, casual 'ha' before adding "Well, I'd say any of em using a possessive title is askin' for trouble, so I think we got that figured out, mate."

The next five minutes was a casual-yet-productive review of Viddin social norms, including the LACK of possessive pronouns if a HuuStook was involved and DEFINITELY if a Vidday was resolved, which brought the discussion back to Vetlyk. "These kinda disturbances don't look good for any of us, mate."

Kaiden felt the stress begin to return and he swallowed his pride, sitting up even straighter. "I know... I mean, I understand. I... I take full blame for it. I don't want any of my classmates to suffer for my oversight. I'm the senior student in the study group so they're my responsibility."

Ethan waved the statement way flippantly. "Nah... she'll be alright, mate. I think we can chalk this up to a learning experience."

The Head Integrator picked up his tablet and began going through several menus. Kaiden sat patiently for what felt like minutes until, at length, he couldn't wait any longer. "Are... we done then?"

Ethan shook his head. "Got just a few more things to go over with ya... I see that all your study group's been debriefed, and I see here that ya got some info that MAY be a little over the approved security level--" he looked straight at Ethan. "...ya know: Ilsit and all that?"

Kaiden tried to come up with five different excuses at the same time, and they all attempted to escape his mouth in unison. After a few false starts he deflated, lowering his head to look down at his hands which sat folded in his lap. "Uh... yeah."

The Head Integrator punched a few buttons on his tablet. "Well... guess that just means we'll have to get ya enrolled into a Tier 7 Class... get you brought up to speed."

Tier 7 Classes were for advanced students learning about carefully controlled information. Kaiden knew about it because of substantial rumors usually accompanied with the statement that Tier 7 was an accomplishment that most students would never be anywhere near with the kind of instruction they could only dream of. Was he suddenly getting that kind of access? "I, uh.... don't understand..."

Ethan set the tablet aside. "You're going to have to learn more about the Ilset. You finished in the top 10% of your classes back on Land Earth and you've been performing well and generally handling your study group with excellence-- until this avro, but I think that can be fixed well enough."

Kaiden couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Really? Oh god-- that's... that's amazing! The guys are gonna get a kick out of this!"

The Head Integrator glanced over at his tablet then back to the student, reaching out to pick it up, smile slowly disappearing. "Oh-- sorry, mate... offer's not good for the group. Tier 7 is pretty specific-- in general Tier 7 is done in pairs, not groups, mate."

A thousand thoughts ran through Kaiden's mind. He was just starting to really get to know all of his study group and their relationships were deepening. How was the administration going to separate them? What would happen to the rest of his group if they couldn't have him as a partner. "Who-- who's getting assigned to Tier 7 with me then?"

Ethan pressed one button then another on his tablet. "Well, mate... that's a decision I need ya to make. Who you takin' with ya?"

Kaiden felt his throat tighten as the severity of the decision weighed down on him. "I'm the one who has to choose?" The vice-like sensation was hard to swallow around and it only got worse when Ethan nodded. "What-- what happens to everyone else?"

The Head Integrator looked up from the tablet. "Well... they can retest to get assigned to a new Human, Phin or Oolau partner if one is available, or they can return to the waiting pool and try again next year."

All of the stress immediately rolled off of Kaiden with that single reveal; he knew exactly what he would do. "Okay."

Ethan appeared taken aback by Kaiden's sudden turn-about of attitude. "Ah... so ya know what ya wanna do then, mate?"

Kaiden nodded, "Uh... yeah-- yes, sir. If it's all the same, if I can't have my full study group go with me, I think I'd rather pass on Tier 7 classes."

Regardless of how much it hurt him to say it, he couldn't sacrifice his study group for his own personal advancement. Ethan simply shrugged and offered cryptically "No worries, mate, she'll be right."

The Head Integrator continued punching away something into his tablet, attention focused on it instead of Kaiden. The student remained in his seat for another length of unmeasured time until he couldn't sit still and say nothing any longer. "I... think I may be late for class if I'm here much longer... are we.... done?"

Ethan set his tablet down and offered a smile. "Sure... all done here, but you and your study group have been transferred out of your class so you get the rest of the week off. All good, mate?"

Kaiden felt his ice freeze as the realization struck him. "Are-- are we... expelled?"

Smirking, the Head Integrator shook his head. "Nah, Mate... ya got the rest of this week off... gonna have all yas join the Tier 7 class next Monday."

"But... I thought you said that only partnerships--"

Ethan waved the objection away. "Nah, mate... I said 'generally'. This'll be the first Tier 7 class this year and I think ya may be the best thing to happen to your study group. Ya just confirmed that ya got the dedication, so let's see how this plays out. Ya game?"

Kaiden was all thank yous, saying the words at least a dozen times as the Head Integrator escorted him out of the office. He was still in shock as he headed back toward his dorm, unwilling and unable to even guess at what would come next. It was a good thing Kaiden had chosen not to guess because he would have gotten it wrong; Sokkas was waiting for him in his apartment when he returned.