The Curious Friendship of Llewellyn and Vellum Scratches.

by OliveBranch

Waiting for the night

“B-but...what about being bright eyed and busy tailed for classes?” Vellum said in a hushed voice. His head poking out the door to room 211 after an amused looking Llewellyn trotted out and into the hall
“Bah, you already spent so much time fretting in bed that you're not going to get a good night sleep anyway. Besides, first day is nothing but instructions and introductions.” Llewellyn said, quickly moving down the hall
“Isn't there a curfew here?” Vellum said, glancing from left to right anxiously, as he did his best to quickly and quietly trot behind Llewellyn. The two foals were half way down the corridor, nearing the exit of the Capra hall dorms, when Llewellyn's horn sparked to life with a pale blue light

“Not if you don't get caught” Llewellyn said, glancing back at Vellum with a smirk “Come on, you're home now. Gotta learn to relax here, plus the garden is super cool at night” Llewellyn's voice was low as he spoke, but clearly laced with energy as he gestured towards the door. The blue light of Llewellyns horn growing as he levitated the brass handles of the heavy oak doors down. A soft creek drifted from the wood, but another blue grow from Llewellyn silenced it and the door pulled open the rest of the way without so much as a woosh
“After you” Llewellyn said, stepping aside. His right hoof twirling a bit before gesturing out the door.

Vellum bit his lip in an effort to cover his frown as he crept through the door. Vellum had never been one for breaking rules, and he wasn't sure why he had agreed to do this now. Maybe it was all the anxiety of being someplace new that made him more open to suggestion, maybe it was his legs unwillingness to settle down, or maybe, Vellum thought, casting a glance back at the ashen colt who held the door for him. Maybe he was kind of afraid to say no to this strange new roomie of his.

Upon exiting the building Llewellyn swiftly took the lead, trotting ahead of Vellum with an energy that Surprised the tan foal.
“Come on, old bean, you said your legs were restless eh? I know just the thing to put them at ease” Llewellyn said, causing Vellum to stop in his tracks.
'Old bean?' Vellum asked inwardly 'What kinda-' Vellum was pulled from his thoughts as a blue aura surrounded his hooves, pulling them forward. In a panic Vellum fought against the magic urging his legs forward, splaying out what of his legs he could control in all directions, trying to brace himself against the ground. After a moment the blue aura around his hooves vanished and Vellum cast his eyes up in an angry glare at Llewellyn
“Whoa hey! Personal space!” Vellum declared to a snickering Llewellyn
“Aww, Twasn't nothing. I just gave them a lil tug. I wont do it again, promise” Llewellyn said, smiling wryly before turning around to head down a worn but welcoming dirt path off the main walk.

Vellum sighed but carried on behind Llewellyn, his hooves picking up their pace a bit. All this activity was making him anxious, far more anxious than he had hoped to be on his first night at a new school. The path beneath his hooves looked safe enough. It was dirt sure, but it showed signs of intense use, so at the very least Llewellyn wasn't leading him off into some creepy untraveled patch of forest. Vellum Glanced back up at his guide. Though it was dark; Llewellyns grey coat seemed to shine, as if charged by what little light the moon was giving off. Vellum was a tad impressed. At first he had thought his new room mate looked rather drab, being mostly grey, with an even lighter mane and tail, but he had to admit, the night suited him. Curious, Vellum let his gaze fall towards Llewellyns flank. He stared confused. 'Wait...that can't be right' he thought, his eyes squinting, scanning over Llewellyns thigh again and again. Vellum only noticed Llewellyn staring back at him when he spoke

“er..getting a nice look there Scratches?” Llewellyn asked, throwing a mock wink at Vellum, before giving his thick white tail a flick

“you...you don't have a cutie mark?!” Vellum declared, his mouth hanging agape “But... You're older than me aren't you?! h...how?”

Llewellyn took a breath and frowned, shrugging his shoulders “don't know, don't care” he said flatly, turning away to continue down the trail.
Vellum quickly trotted up shoulder to shoulder with Llewellyn, his head turning to stare at him open mouthed
“Don't care? Wah...but...What about jobs? What about.....the very laws of pony kind?! There's tons to care abo-” Vellum was cut off as a pink flower engulfed in a blue aura was stuffed into his muzzle. Llewellyn looked peeved as his magic dissapaited, leaving Vellum to spit out the flower

“Sure Scratches, there IS a lot I could care about, but I don't” he said, turning away to continue down the path, a little bit more intently this time. Not deterred Vellum bounded back up to keep pace

“but....you have to have a cutie mark...everypony does. At least...Everypony our age does, and I'm pretty sure you're older than me.” Vellum said, struggling to think up how anypony could fail to have one. Short of dying as a young foal, he was coming up blank

“Maybe I'm broken” Llewellyn replied bluntly, staring straight ahead as he slowly increased his pace. Vellum stopped, taken back a bit

“wait..no! Don't say that!” Vellum frowned and furrowed his brow as he drew energy into his horn. Focusing on the hurriedly trotting Llewellyns legs, he planned to grab at his hooves in the same way Llewellyn had done his but before he could act Llewellyn stopped abruptly and turned, flashing an evil looking grin back

“You do it, and you've nullified your personal space rule” Llewellyn said, pointedly. Vellum sighed and released the arcane energies from his horn as he walked up to Llewellyn

“o-okay...but...you've got to be good at something don't you? I mean...you're here at this school. That would mean at least....magic? or...studying?” Vellum asked. The question seemed to bug Llewellyn as his villainous smile pulled back into a frown, but he didn't race ahead as he had before

“I'm good at telekenesis...and...” Llewellyn paused for a moment, glancing up at the sky “I...like to sing.”
Vellum raised an eyebrow “Really? Er...Don't want to sound rude but, I didn't place you as a singing type.

Llewellyn chuckled softly at that.
“Nopony does. You shoulda seen the the look on my therapists face when she found out.” Llewellyn said, suddenly coming to a dead stop. His hoof gesturing out in front of him “And here we are! My lil slice of heaven here at Celly's”
Vellum's eyes followed Llewellyns hoof, his pupils growing small as he looked up, then up, and up some more. The two foals stood at the entrance to a giant hedge maze. Tall rows of green descending deep into the night. The path was lit at the entrance, and every few meters, by an iron lamp. A magical orb ablaze within the glass.
“Isn't it grand?” Llewellyn said, a sense of awe breaching the cracks of his monotone. Vellum gulped, suddenly feeling a bit prickly
“w..wait, we aren't going to go in there are we? At night? I agreed to a walk, n-not to get lost in a super huge maze” Vellum said, taking a tentative step back, meanwhile Llewellyn ran ahead

“Aww come on Scratches! Nothing to worry about, I memorized all the routes my first year, I know it like the back of my hoof” Llewellyn said, bringing his hoof to his face for a moment before swinging it back down to stomp the dirt path, poofing a little cloud of dirt into the air. “I wouldn't let you get lost. Just a quick trot to the central garden of the maze then back. We'll be done before you know it!”