[The chapters that follow show toxic relationships / they are not normal reactions / and it is not sane to act like this...]
***
Julian was wandering through the inner courtyard of the academy, hands in his pockets, gaze lost in front of him. The light-colored cobblestones echoed under his steady steps while muffled shouts from the training fields rose into the cold morning air. Without really thinking about it, he headed toward the main training hall.
For some time now, Kaiser and he had been training together almost daily. Sometimes Jasper even joined them.
Each learned from the other, corrected a detail, observed a stance, absorbed a different method. It wasn't exactly friendship, especially not with Jasper, who seemed completely devoid of any form of emotional attachment.
The guy was an ice cube, literally. Yet a certain closeness had settled in. After training, they sometimes talked about this and that, without any particular goal.
