3 - It's pronounced 'quiche'. 'Kee-sh'

Asterius shook his head. "I'm not really on social media. I've made an Instagram profile, but mostly because everyone had one. Horknath has one", he added, nodding towards him. Horknath smiled sheepishly.
"It's mostly pictures of Spike - and some videos our parents made at our matches", he explained, scratching his neck.
Asterius nodded. "Oh, I just asked Theseus how he was doing with his theoretical exams", he answered candidly. "Since I've discovered we're in the same faculty."

Carleen had almost been distracted at the mention of Spike. Almost. But then her lips spread in a devilish grin. "Oh, really! Did he tell you he ditches most of his classes?"

Theseus cleared his throat, and laughed loudly. "Oh, my, look at that, I'm almost late for football practice. Gotta go. I'll catch you all later," he said, grabbing his food tray, and getting ready to get up and flee.

"It doesn't start until one hour later, but sure," Carleen said with a smirk, before she turned towards Horknath. "So! You've got an Instagram? Let me add you!"

Asterius frowned at Theseus. Deeply. "... what does it mean, you ditch most of your classes?", he asked quietly, staring at him. It was difficult to flee while pinned under Asterius' gaze, but hey. Maybe Theseus was the one single immune person in the whole world!

Horknath smiled at her and picked up his phone, to share his Instagram with her. "As said there isn't much", he half-apologized. "But if you don't mind videos of me with bruises and a bloody nose, and endless dog pictures and videos, then. All yours."

Theseus didn't answer. In fact, he did, but he didn't answer Asterius' question. "See you Asterius, have a nice day!" And he got up and left with his food tray, that he left in the right place before he got out of the cafeteria quickly.

Carleen chuckled. "Aw, don't undersell yourself, I love those!" She added him, and showed him her account so he could follow her back. There were many pictures of her, her projects, her father's creations during events in which they went live, and her friends and family.

Asterius frowned as Theseus fled from their discussion in that way. He said nothing, though, and didn't run after him, deciding instead to confront him on the matter later when he'd find him again in the lockers. After all, weren't they at least sort of friends now? He was supposed to worry at least a little about him, right?

Horknath smiled when he saw Carleen's profile. "You seem far more well-versed than me on this Instagram thing", he joked. "Your pictures are very nice." But then again, he might have been biased.

Theseus did spend all of his afternoon practicing, so that by the end of the day, when he made it to the lockers and took off his shirt, he was drenched in sweat, and tired, for once. But it was also because for once, he had not been able to clear his mind through sports; anytime he stopped, he remembered Asterius' disapproving tone. For some reason, disappointing him sounded worse than letting his family down by not studying seriously.

Carleen smiled at Horknath. "Instagram is the only social network I get and use, though. Selena had to help me on the dating app, or we wouldn't have met at all," she told him with a chuckle.

If we ignore the time paradox, by the time Theseus was finished with practice, Asterius would be done too - and he'd be definitely entering the lockers as Theseus was still there. He froze for a second, debating whether to talk to him to understand his behavior back at the University cafeteria or not. In the end he decided not to mind his own business, and walked towards him, his own drenched shirt already draped over his shoulder. "Hello, Theseus", he greeted him with a huff.

Horknath smiled sheepishly. "Honestly I had just created a profile to help a friend - he's involved with the group of students who created it, and they needed more people to subscribe so they could see if there were any errors."

Theseus almost jumped - he had just taken off his shorts, and was readying himself to go for the showers. "Oh! Hello, Asterius," he replied, feigning nonchalance, and actually hoping his friend had forgotten about their lunch discussion. "How was practice today? I see you gave your everything!"
Yes let's ignore the time paradox and the fact that both Horknath and Asterius probably are in the two locations

Carleen smiled. "Don't worry, you don't have to justify yourself. But- you can thank your friend for me. If not for him, we probably wouldn't have met."

Asterius snorted. "I never give any less", he commented. "You too, I see." There was a pause as he shuffled out of his own clothes to prepare for his shower. "Are you going to flee again if I ask you why you're not going to your classes?", he asked then casually as he grabbed his soaps and towels, brutal and direct as only he could be - while still speaking in a somewhat soft tone, given his deep voice.

Horknath held back a smile. Yeah, he guessed he should really thank his friend Kevin for convincing him to test the app. "I will. Or, well, we... maybe we would have met, but I definitely wouldn't have had the guts to talk to you."

Theseus has begun to relax, thinking that Asterius had dropped the subject... Only to tense again when he mentioned it. He sighed. Thankfully, Asterius' voice was soft, and it actually soothed him instead of upsetting him, so he felt like giving a genuine answer, for once. "Well-," he began, his tone a little more dramatic than necessary. "Nay, I shall not flee, Asterius." He walked with him towards the showers. "As for your question- well. I've never managed to bring myself to care much about theory. It bores me to no end! Why, I took this major so I could be able to do any sports I please, and not learn about anatomy, sociolo... tology or whatever the English for this nightmare is!"

Carleen let out a soft 'aww', before she shook her head. "Well. Now that I think about it, I do remember that we bumped into each other in the corridors though, and that I caught Asterius' name. I would have probably tried to talk to either of you if I saw you again from that moment on." Oh, yes, she remembered how much in awe she had been upon discovering Horknath. Love at first sight, she had thought at the moment.

"Sociology", Asterius corrected him, still kindly seeing as Theseus answered better when confronted about something in a due calm and non-judgemental way. "While I do understand you - the subjects are really not easy - are you not worried about being blocked in your path if you don't... at least try to care a little bit about the theory?" He walked at his side to get to the showers, where they'd still manage to get a little privacy since a lot of their teammates had already quickly washed and walked away. He decided to avoid asking Theseus what his plans were for the after-Uni, because he had the feeling that would stress him out and bring him to clam back up immediately. "Have you tried to get a tutor?", he asked calmly. "I asked for the supervision of one of my seniors during my first year because I just couldn't pass Sociology. It was of great help."

Horknath tried his best not to flush, but his ears reddened in embarrassment anyway. "I remember", he murmured. He did look surprised at the notion that Carleen would have tried to talk to him anyway, though. "O-oh - well, then if that's so I... I'm glad you have enough initiative for the two of us", he confessed with a little smile. "I'll try to be better at that though, I promise. I don't want you to shoulder everything on your own." He flushed again. "N-not by asking for quickies though."

Theseus scoffed. "A tutor? I can barely bring myself to listen to a teacher, I'm not sure I'd manage listening to anyone else." He washed himself a bit, his gaze drifting to Asterius a few times. "How... confident are you in socio-whatever by now?" Maybe Asterius could tutor him! That seemed much better to him already.

Carleen let out a kind laugh. "Don't worry, Horknath. You'll get there naturally." She smiled at him and gently took his hand in hers for a bit, but since they were still with Asterius in that timeline, she politely talked to him too before it would be time for her to get back to class.
"Oh, Horknath, would you mind coming with me for a sec? There's something I'd like to give you," she told him with a smile.

Asterius grunted, but tdidn't answer to Theseus' first affirmation. He genuinely thought focus and studying was a mere thing dictated by will, a choice. Even though he knew that there were people who genuinely struggled with it, Theseus was such a will-driven individual, with a great deal of single-mindedness that-oh. Alright, now he could see why he would be having difficulties then.
He raised a brow at him when he asked about how he was faring with Sociology. "I'd say I'm doing well enough", he answered. "I'm certainly not the best, but I can pass my exams." He squinted. "Why?"

Asterius talked back to Carleen a bit, but he clearly tried to hold back a smile for the whole time. He was fully conscious of being the third wheel in this lunch right now, but didn't overly mind it. When Carleen invited his brother to go with her, he raised from the table. "I'll be waiting for you at the fields", he told Horknath. "Have a good day, Carleen." This said, he walked away with his empty tray to give it back, and then out of the cafeteria thus finally freeing himself from the time paradox.
Horknath had answered with a beaming "Sure!" and nodded at his brother before getting up from his chair, ready to follow her. Maybe she wanted him to escort her to class?

Theseus shrugged, but there was a smile tugging at his lips by now. "Well. As I said, I don't think anyone might get me to focus on something like that, but you're not just 'anyone'." He turned to Asterius. "Would you help me studying, my friend, if I asked you to?" Alright, that was sly of him to word it out like this, leaving Asterius not much of a choice. But hey! He'd love to spend more time with him!

Carleen had Horknath follow her out of the cafeteria, and dragged him around the corner, in between two buildings, were they'd have a bit of privacy. There, she gestured for him to lean down, and grabbed the hem of his jacket while she raised herself on her tiptoes for a long, soft and chaste kiss. When she parted away from him, she was holding back a smile. "I couldn't wait until Friday," she whispered to him.

Asterius froze a little, and turned towards Theseus. Indeed, the wording of that didn't really seem to leave him much space to back off - well, not without sounding like he was refusing a very simple favor to a friend, anyway. He frowned a little, glaring at him. 'This little weasel', he thought, half irritated and half impressed by how easily he had been cornered, like in one of their matches. "If you're that sure that you'd listen to me of all people, I don't see why I shouldn't", he answered in the end, accepting defeat graciously as he kept washing himself. 

Horknath got almost startled by how easily he just bowed to Carleen's little whims - and how gladly he got lost in her kisses, too. He loved it, though. He sighed when she parted from him, and stared at her lovingly. "I'm happy you didn't wait", he confessed with a small smile, leaning in to steal another gentle kiss from her lips, his hands on her waist - merely to help her stay on her tiptoes. She was pretty light, it wasn't really difficult to lift her up a little!

Theseus grinned to himself. "Well. Then I'd love to have you as my tutor in that field. Perhaps it'll be plenty enough to get me invested in the others, who knows!" It was a blatant lie. Theseus had never gotten interested in anything that wasn't sports. Or Asterius. Or related to his family in any way.

Carleen chuckled kindly, stepping just a little closer to Horknath. It felt less awkward like this, especially with his hands helping her up. "I can't wait to meet you again," she confessed.

Unfortunately for Theseus though, who maybe was thinking he'd just get more time to chill with his friend and not actually end up studying anything, Asterius was someone who definitely took his duties seriously. Very seriously. Let's be honest, probably his modest background helped him being more responsible - his parents definitely didn't have the kind of money to support him through more years of University, if he happened to fail one too many times.
Thank god for that scholarship for his outstanding results with sports. Thank god he was built like a truck.
"Good then. When do you wish to start?", he asked. "I was planning on passing this Saturday afternoon preparing for my next exam."

"Me too", Horknath answered softly. He seemed to get struck with an idea and beamed. "Oh - would you like to come over for our match on Sunday, if you're free? And- well, if you're interested in seeing that, of course." He felt a little selfish, since Carleen would be already staying with him on Friday at dinner and Saturday afternoon, but he couldn't help but wish to see her at all times.

Theseus's face lit up. "Sure! You could come to my place, if you want. I've got quite a lot of space in my bedroom. And I've got a training room too, in case we get fed up with bullying and you just feel like lifting up some weights." He winked at Asterius, before he had to run his face under the water to get his hair rid of his shampoo. He sighed, and waited underneath the stream for a bit with a pleased look on his face. He wasn't expecting any refusal by this point either. Things usually went his way.

Carleen's face lit up with a grin. "Sure! I'd love to! It's been quite a long time since I've watched a rugby match, in fact. Last time was when Theseus was still part of a team, I think," she mused out loud. "I'll be cheering you on!"

"I'll come over, then." Asterius carefully washed his mane and his body - he needed two different types of shampoo. Being covered in fur isn't half as fun as it sounds -, and grunted. "We won't get fed up. We'll study together."

Horknath beamed. "Great! Thank you!" He gently put her down back on her feet, smiling sheepishly again before stealing yet another kiss from her. "Do you want me to accompany you to your class before I get to my training?"

Theseus looked curiously at Asterius' long locks of hair, but eventually tore his gaze away from him when it drifted too much southwards to be considered proper. "Sounds great," he replied with a grin as he turned the water off. "I'll text you the address - although Horknath knows it by now, you shouldn't have any issue finding it!"

Carleen smiled fondly at Horknath, and brought her strand of loose hair behind her ear. "I'd love to, but only if it doesn't make you late for practice, alright?"

Asterius hummed and nodded. "I'll probably come over with him then. I've heard he and Carleen were planning out to meet up on Sunday too anyway, but I think they won't be staying in the apartment." He turned off the water when he was sure he had rinsed himself properly, and pulled on his mane to get it less wet. After wrapping himself in a towel - and as he tried his best not to stare at Theseus for too long of a time - he grabbed a sponge he had brought along with his shampoos and sat down, lowering his head. He grabbed one of his horns and started polishing it. "You don't need to wait for me. It'll take some time."

"It doesn't! I'm still perfectly on time", Horknath answered helpfully with a smile, offering his hand to Carleen. "If I take too much time I can always jog back to the field."

Theseus actually stopped after drying himself quickly, and wrapped his towel around his waist, sitting down on a bench not too far from Asterius, looking at him. "Oh! I've never actually thought about it, but it's true you need to clean those too. Isn't it bothersome to do it on your own?" They were quite long, after all. Long, and smooth, and- were they a bit like nails? Oh gosh he'd love to see these colored. He was already tracing patters on them in his mind.

Carleen smiled at Horknath, and took his hand. "Alright, then." And she walked back to class hand-in-hand with him. Truth be told, she was delighted they did so, for she got to gush about her new boyfriend with some of her classmates as soon as Horknath would leave to jog back to the rugby field.

Asterius hummed in assent. "Sometimes. But I'm used to it", he simply answered, carefully scrubbing off some dirt that had gotten stuck on the horn when he had been tackled to the ground before. "When I was a kid, my dad used to help me. But I can do it on my own quite fine - even if I have to handle them a little roughly to get to the further spots." And, since horns are only bone on the inside and covered in the exact same stuff nails are made of, yes. Yes, they could be painted.

(And that's exactly how it went and aw they are CUTES)

Theseus kept staring at Asterius' horns for probably far longer than socially acceptable, to be honest. "Mh. I could help, if you want." He bit on his lower lip. Yeah, yeah. Geometrical patterns. Shades of pink and violet? Blue and green. Adding some black and white. Oh, the possibilities were driving him mad! "They'd look great painted," he suddenly said, without even realizing it.

(YES THEY ARE)

Asterius looked up at him, blinking. "... well, if you don't find it bothersome. Thank you for offering", he answered, feeling strangely shy at the thought of someone who wasn't a family member helping him out with cleaning his horns. He smiled a little smile though, unexpectedly enough, when Theseus made that observation about paint. it had been sudde, surely, but the thought it brought to him was a happy memory. "I used to have them painted sometimes", he confessed lowly, keeping working on one of them with his sponge. "But that's another thing I can't do on my own - and it's difficult to scrub the paint away too." Aria used to do that for him when they were kids, and then in his early teenage years, when the horns had started growing and making it painful for him to bear them. Watching himself in the mirror and see the colorful patterns his sister would come up with eased his days a lot.