It was the middle of the night when Haru opened the balcony window with his shoulder.
How he had gotten there, he didn't really remember. How he had climbed up, vomiting the entire way, he didn't remember either. How he had escaped the academy's control, even less so. Maybe someone had seen him, maybe they hadn't. But he was there, with one leg already inside the room and the other still deciding whether it believed in gravity.
The academy was asleep.
Down below, all that could be seen were the dim lights of the protocols, guards from the wing making their rounds with lanterns, and the occasional imperial guard standing at a corner, bored out of his mind. Everything was silent. Everything was orderly.
Except for Haru.
He staggered along the ledge, singing a song he'd learned at the guild without knowing how or when. The lyrics were half obscenity, half ode to some random dwarf. Who cared? What mattered was that he had a bottle of strong wine tucked under his arm.
Full.
