George didn't only want to help Khan with his words. He knew that the mission in [The Pure Trees] was for the greater good of humanity, but he couldn't forget that he belonged to the fourth class.
Brandon and Kelly were basically monopolizing the situation, which didn't put the classes coming from the other training camp under a good light. Still, George, Veronica, and Gabriela were relatively plain compared to the flashy Brandon and the stern Kelly. Only Khan could claim Ilman's attention and make a good impression.
Khan slowly turned toward George. The boy was showing one of his best smiles while patting his shoulder, and his expression carried pure confidence. Everyone would believe his words, especially since he was the first to trust them.
"Khan," Ilman repeated while diverting his gaze to look through his memories.
"Of course!" Ilman exclaimed as his eyes lit up. "You are the first human to ride an Aduns. You are lucky that Liiza was in charge of helping your group. The other Niqols would have never given you the chance to tame one of them."
Khan felt incredibly lucky. A simple call redirected to the special phones handed to the Niqols had given him the chance to meet Liiza. That simple encounter had provided him with an Aduns, a girlfriend, and peace. Nitis had granted him happiness that he didn't believe to be possible. His mind contained only gratitude, but Ilman smiling face was trying to tamper with that feeling.
"Miss Liiza has saved my position on Nitis," Khan announced while performing a polite bow. "I'm forever in her debt."
"I can understand that," Ilman laughed. "I can already sense that we'll get along. Maybe our mana is compatible."
'World, I hate you,' Khan thought while his mouth moved to voice different words. "I feel the same. I hope I can be of help."
"Oh?" Ilman gasped to reveal a surprised expression. "Are you familiar with our way of experiencing feelings?"
"Only vaguely," Khan gave another polite answer. "I find your customs captivating, so I tried to broaden my view, but I'm afraid I can't quite match the depths of your perception."
"Wonderful!" Ilman shouted as his surprise transformed into pure joy. "This is how it should have been from the beginning! Humans trying to feel like Niqols! Thank you, Khan. Your words have rekindled my hopes. I now believe with even more intensity that our species can be great allies!"
Khan felt speechless in front of that dramatic answer, but he wasn't the only one on the scene to experience those feelings. George directly opened his mouth in surprise, and the other recruits also remained stunned. The same went for the two Niqos who were still with Ilman. They didn't think that their companion's reaction would be so extreme over such a simple matter.
"I hope you can help me improve there if it's not too much to ask," Khan managed to say after suppressing his surprise.
"No problem at all," Ilman exclaimed. "I'm sure the professors will already point you in the right direction, but I will definitely help when I can. I can't wait to work with all of you."
Ilman performed a bow, and the recruits quickly imitated him. The alien left at that point, and the two envoys took care of the last doubts that remained in the experts' minds.
"Are you planning to leave every night even after coming here?" George asked as the envoys left and the recruits started to return to their habitations.
George and the other recruits didn't miss how Khan's questions to the envoys had involved the various restrictions of the academy. The answers had left him pleasantly surprised since every student basically had complete freedom as long as their actions didn't damage the structures or ruin the peace that filled the insides of the membrane.
Fights were strictly forbidden, but that only inside the valley due to the many defenses in place. Those restrictions would vanish once the students reached the mountains.
Even the lessons weren't mandatory, but that obviously didn't apply to the recruits. The Global Army would send them back to Earth if they tried to skip them. Deciding not to attend them could appear as a lack of respect on the human side toward the chance to learn about the Niqols' ways.
"Better than hearing your snores every night," Khan laughed.
"I don't snore," George snorted.
"You have made remaining awake on Istrone really easy for me," Khan mocked.
"I'll take it as a yes then," George sighed while ignoring his comment. "I honestly don't get it. We have so many good training areas here. The mountains are nice, but I don't think they can beat this."
George waved his hand to highlight the peaceful scenery under the thick crowns. Everything was dark in the areas without azure symbols, but that didn't remove the magical feeling that the scene could generate. The aura that permeated everything inside the membrane also enhanced those vibes and made the recruits desire to protect that place.
"It's indeed good," Brandon commented, "But I still prefer our clean streets and tall buildings. I can't get used to these bathrooms either."
"I agree on the bathrooms," Kelly added.
"They aren't so bad," Khan commented. "I had it far worse in the Slums."
"I don't even want to think about that," Helen uttered while wearing a disgusted expression. "How did you even, you know, clean yourself?"
"Do you really want to hear the answer?" Khan asked.
"No," Helen shook her head. "I want to continue respecting you."
"I'm sure that won't be too hard," Veronica smirked as her eyes fell on Khan.
Khan ignored that gesture, and the two Niqols waiting next to the passage that led toward the underground habitations made it easy for him to mask his actions. He couldn't help but smile when he recognized the two aliens that had appeared on his path.
"Doku, Azni!" Khan shouted happily, surprising the four recruits that came from the other training camp. "I didn't think you studied here."
"Only the best Niqols have the chance to be in [The Pure Trees]," Azni sighed. "You should know that we belong here."
"We have been busy during the day," Doku continued. "I wouldn't have minded handling the tour otherwise."
"Ilman took care of that," Khan shortly explained before turning toward Azni. "How is your back?"
"I have a small scar because of you," Azni complained while crossing her arms in front of her chest. "I've decided to forgive you only recently."
"How magnanimous of you," Khan laughed before focusing on Doku. "So, what do you have in mind?"
"We thought that our poor human friends would feel completely lost here," Doku explained. "Luckily for them, two good Niqols are willing to help."
Brandon and the other recruits from the other training camp couldn't believe how at ease Khan, Doku, and Azni appeared. They almost looked like old friends.
Even George and Veronica struggled to understand how Khan could have such a good relationship with the two Niqols. They knew that he had managed to make a deal with Doku for the booze, but they didn't expect the aliens to treat him as a friend.
Khan quickly introduced his companions, and the two groups exchanged a series of bows. The two Niqols then followed the recruits inside their habitations, and they didn't show any hesitation to sit on Khan's bed before explaining the reason behind their visit.
"The professors don't let us have parties inside the actual academy ground," Doku explained, "But we often gather near one of the mountains and spend the night there. We have already planned something for tonight, so you must come."
"Doku is the best at this stuff," Azni continued. "Don't even try to come up with excuses. We know that you don't get tired easily."
George and the others could only stare at the scene with their mouths open. Khan, Azni, and Doku were sitting on the former's bed without minding that the lack of space was forcing them to be quite close. Their backs were on the wall behind them, and Khan and Azni's shoulders even touched often.
"Do you want us to get drunk the night before our first lessons?" Khan laughed. "That's not ideal."
"You survived an entire tour with Ilman," Azni commented. "You'll be fine."
"Azni is one of the few girls who can escape Ilman's charm," Doku quickly explained.
"What charm?" Azni scoffed. "He's always so intense for no reason, and he is completely devoted to Liiza. Only an idiot would keep hitting on her after hundreds of rejections."
"Hundreds?" Khan repeated.
"He is quite devoted to the task," Doku laughed. "Well, he expresses the true Niqols' way. I don't think I've seen anyone so intense."
"Luckily he never comes to the parties," Azni revealed. "He doesn't care since Liiza never comes either."
"I thought she would have friends here," Khan said after making sure that his words didn't reveal that he had learnt about her situation. "Is she always alone?"
"That's quite hard to explain," Doku replied.
"Not really hard," Azni corrected. "Just quite complicated. Things got worse with time and led to the current situation. Some of us don't hate her. Ignoring her it's more of a habit that's hard to break since she doesn't try to get friends."
That answer added details to Khan's knowledge. He had only heard Liiza's side of the story before, but he gained a complete view of the matter after Azni's explanation.
Liiza's decision to break up with Ilman had turned her into an outcast, and her personality had developed from that state. Her peers had grown and had eventually forgotten about their disappointment, but Liiza had become unapproachable in those years.
Of course, that only applied to part of the Niqols. Many still believed that Liiza had betrayed her species and weren't willing to forgive her.
"Let's not waste time talking about those two," Doku exclaimed. "The party will begin soon. I bet that someone has already started drinking. We must hurry."
"We should get clean and change before," Khan responded. "I smell like my Aduns."
"Why would you clean yourself before the party?" Doku asked as honest confusion appeared on his face. "You'll get dirty again there anyway."
"This isn't a formal event," Azni explained while revealing an understanding smile. "The others would only think that you are strange if you changed for the event."
"Oh, it's a human thing," Doku uttered while standing up. "Right, I forgot about it."
"Let's go," Azni giggled while keeping her glowing eyes on Khan.
The girl eventually stood up and wore her usual cold expression when she glanced at the other recruits staring at the scene. She didn't seem good with strangers, so Doku took care of pressing them.
"I believe you won't miss the chance to join a core event of the academy," Doku teased, and the recruits felt forced to leave their beds and gather around him.
Doku understood their situation clearly. The recruits were there to improve the relationship with the Niqols, so attending common social events was necessary. Their duties basically forced them to go to the party.
The group soon left the underground habitations and left the membrane as Doku and Azni led the humans across the forest. The two Niqols explained details that the envoys and Ilman had left behind, like the paths toward the various mountains. It seemed that the camp had seven vague exits meant for that specific purpose.
Each mountain also had a name that humans struggled to pronounce. The Niqols used them to divide the valley into different quadrants, and only the professors mentioned them during the planning of special lessons outside the membrane. Most of the students had learnt them only to have an easier time planning parties or similar events.
"I knew it," Doku sighed when the group arrived in a relatively empty area.
Thirty or so Niqols had created small groups around a fuming cauldron that contained the familiar pink liquid. They all had drinks in their hands, and piles of wooden cups stood a few trees away from the empty area.
The arrival of the humans didn't go unnoticed, but the Niqols didn't appear bothered by that. Instead, some of them wore excited faces and raised their glasses toward them.
Doku forced the group to take cups and fill them with the scorching pink liquid. It turned out that no one actually smuggled the drink inside the valley. The academy had a few Niqols who could produce it as long as they had a cauldron and a few core materials. Doku happened to be one of them.
The recruits started to relax as the drinks began to show their effects. The other Niqols also grew more friendly after emptying a few cups. Everyone became tipsy after a few hours, and the humans never had the chance to remain alone since they were a great attraction in that situation.
Khan limited himself to drink a few cups while getting to know everyone. He even exchanged honest laughs after some of them cracked jokes in the human language, and he did his best to use the Niqols' language as much as possible.
The situation grew slightly awkward for the recruits after some couples formed. A few Niqols started kissing and whispering sweet words before leaving the empty area and disappearing among the trees.
Veronica, Kelly, and Gabriela couldn't help but blush when they understood what was happening. They felt that they genuinely understood the Niqols' freedom during the party, and that mood slightly affected them.
Khan glanced at Azni kissing with Doku on a fallen trunk used as a bench. The girl eventually stood up and led him inside the forest without caring about leaving their human friends in that awkward situation.
A few Niqols approached Khan and exploded into happy laughs when they saw him looking straight in their eyes during the toasts. The fact that he respected their customs made him quite popular around the aliens that focused on drinking.
Some daring Niqols tried to flirt with Helen, Veronica, and Brandon, but the three humans only played along without ever considering something more than that. It didn't feel proper due to the political importance of their mission. Moreover, they thought that the aliens were moving too quickly for their standards.
The situation was enjoyable, even fun at times, but time moved quickly, and it soon became too late, especially for the recruits. George and the others searched for each other with their gazes once their phones revealed that it was already past two am, but they quickly discovered that Khan was nowhere to be seen.
Brandon and the others from his camp initially felt worried about his sudden disappearance, but George took care of reassuring them.
"He leaves often," George explained while leading the group back inside the forest, on a path that would bring them back to the academy. "Don't worry. He'll be at the lessons before us."
