**Chapter 111 – The Afternoon**
The afternoon class was more theoretical than practical.
It was in the same building as the first History class, but in a different room, more closed off and with fewer windows. The teacher was a short man with a measured voice, who spoke about group formation structures and terrain reading as if he were telling an old story.
Most of the class paid attention only halfway.
The orphanage group settled at the back, as it was already becoming habit. Joker leaned back in his chair, listening more than he seemed to. Harley drew abstract shapes in the margin of her notebook. Astrid fought against sleep. Marina occasionally poked her arm to keep her awake. Rina paid real attention. Sylvara and Lirien wrote down a few things. Kuroe, as always, stayed silent, eyes on the teacher, but her mind clearly divided between the class and the rest of the room.
Elowen was a few rows ahead, near the wall. She didn't interact with anyone around her. She simply followed the explanation with the same contained posture as always.
The class itself didn't bring anything especially new. It was more reinforcement of what they had seen in the morning: the importance of not abandoning the line, how to use the environment in your favor, when retreating was better than forcing. Still, the teacher spoke in a way that made the content seem less dry than it could have been.
When the bell rang, most stood up too quickly to hide the boredom.
In the corridor, the group came together again.
— If I heard the word "formation" one more time, I was going to start seeing in diagrams — Astrid muttered.
— You already see in diagrams — Marina answered. — Only yours is "hit first, think later."
Astrid didn't deny it.
They started walking toward the courtyard. The next period was free and short, just enough to rest before the last schedule of the day.
It was in that interval that things spread out a little.
Astrid and Rina went to the open area to move around. Marina and Sylvara stayed sitting on a low wall talking. Lirien took the chance to review some notes. Joker and Harley disappeared for a few minutes, as they had already done in other breaks — no one asked where.
Kuroe stayed in the courtyard.
Not on an isolated bench this time. She stopped closer to the main circulation, leaning against a column, watching the movement without completely mixing into it.
Elowen appeared a few minutes later, coming from the opposite corridor. Instead of heading straight to a distant corner like on the other days, she crossed the courtyard at an angle that made her pass relatively close to the column where Kuroe was.
She didn't stop.
But she also didn't speed up.
As she passed, the two looked at each other again. This time the nod came first from Elowen — short, controlled. Kuroe responded the same way.
That was all.
Elowen continued walking and went to sit on one of the more distant benches, alone. Kuroe remained at the column for a little longer, then moved away and returned in the direction where part of the group was.
When she approached, Marina commented without much importance:
— You've been quiet even for your standards today.
Kuroe shrugged.
— There was nothing to say.
The answer was simple enough to end the subject.
The break ended quickly. The last period of the day was another light training session, this time without formal team division. Just movement circuits, endurance, and posture correction. Nothing that required great coordination. Enough to tire the body without demanding too much from the head.
When they finally released the class, the sun was already lower.
On the way back to the dormitories, the group walked more spread out, truly tired. The conversations were short. Someone complained about the heat. Someone brought up the dinner food. Someone just walked in silence.
Kuroe came a little behind, as usual.
At a certain moment, far enough not to be part of the same conversation, Elowen also headed toward the girls' building. Not together. But also not completely separated from the flow in which the group was walking.
The distance between them continued to exist.
Only, with each day, it seemed a little less necessary.
**End of Chapter 111**