"Wow, what a mess you've made! I was only gone for twenty minutes!"
William exclaimed in surprise when he saw the state of the archery room, with several students lying on the floor, blood on the floor, and Divina holding a bloody knife.
William had a smile on his lips, still happy about winning the art competition. He walked up to Divina and touched her hands with one of his long fingernails. The blood on them gathered as if it had a life of its own, forming a small, perfect, floating sphere.
"Here you go, clean your hands."
William took a packet of wet wipes out of his backpack. Enid had given them to him and put them in his backpack.
"Now, a couple of amputated fingers is no big deal."
William picked up both fingers from the floor and pressed them gently against Olden's wounds. Soon, the flesh grew back, the bones joined together, and the veins began pumping blood to the cells again.
(Although my Trasgo Queen medal cannot regenerate lost limbs, joining a freshly severed limb is no big deal.)
"I hope this will stop you from touching other people's things again." (William)
"The usual?" (Divina)
"Yes, just let me remember it." (William)
"Always? You've only done it twice... Right?" (Xavier)
Xavier gave Divina a questioning look.
"Don't make that face, I wouldn't use it on you or my friends." (Divina)
*Sigh of relief* (Xavier)
William stood up and shook his hands, as if they had some dust on them. Now, except for the students sleeping in strange positions, the classroom looked normal, with no blood, screams, or fingers scattered on the floor.
Bianca clenched her fists from a position where none of the three could see her as she listened to Divina's words.
"All of you, forget what happened about 30 minutes ago!!!." (Divina)
The pink mist from Divina's siren song enveloped all the students. The ring William had given her for her birthday amplified her powers. She was still not as powerful as Bianca, but she had better control of her ability, so she prevented her friends from falling asleep with the rest of the students the first time she used it.
"What are we going to do with all of them?" (Xavier)
"And with their lack of memories from 30 minutes ago, it will be suspicious." (Bianca)
"That's easy." (William)
William picked up his backpack and put his bow back in its case. He used to carry it on his sword as if it were a guitar.
He approached the door before looking directly at each of them: Kent, Divina, Xavier, and Bianca.
"Run!!!!" (William)
William didn't wait for everyone's reaction. He patted Kent on the sword and ran off. If they weren't here when everyone woke up, they wouldn't have to explain themselves, and their first class was about to start.
Kent didn't fully understand what had happened, but he slung his rucksack over his shoulder and ran after William. Soon they all arrived at their classroom before the lesson began. The teacher gave them a brief, annoyed look but said nothing in the end.
"What happened? I didn't see you at breakfast, and a couple of students saw you in Weems' office?" (Enid)
William took a seat next to Enid. Today, Yoko would sit next to Divina.
"I don't think anyone knows about the disaster in the archery room. Do you want the scoop for your blog?"
Enid smiled happily and gave him a little hug. Her blog was a small project she enjoyed doing, and she was glad to have William's support.
"Mr. Stone, Miss Sinclair, we're in class. That's enough." (Teacher)
"Sorry, Professor." (Enid)
Enid quickly let go of him and moved away a little. William didn't care about the reprimand. He just took Enid's hand under the table and intertwined his fingers with hers.
Several Days Later - Parents' Day - Nevermore.
Dozens of students and their parents gathered in the front courtyard of Nevermore for a buffet breakfast for all the invited parents, with tables for each family, white tablecloths and elegant cutlery, crystal glasses and a speech by Headmistress Weems.
"Are your parents coming? It's your first year at Nevermore." (Xavier)
"They called me this morning. They're busy with other matters, something to do with a visit from an old friend of my father's." (William)
"At least they called you. I got a message last night. He won't be able to come this year either." (Xavier)
"Busy with his next big show, 'Vincent Thorper, the Master of Divination'." (Xavier)
Xavier exaggerated the title, waving his hands as if imitating a huge explosion. William just patted him on the shoulder. He knew how it felt to be in that situation. Neither of his parents had attended his university graduation in his previous life.
"You won't meet Enid's parents, her pack." (Xavier)
Xavier looked down from the second-floor balcony at Enid and her family, four siblings and their parents. Enid and her mother seemed to be arguing about something.
"Enid doesn't have a good relationship with her mother. We talked and agreed that I would meet them next year along with my parents." (William)
"That sounds very serious." (Xavier)
Xavier responded with a smile, happy for his friend. His relationship with Bianca was not the best.
"I thought it would be just you and me again, Xavier." (Bianca)
Bianca appeared in the hallway and walked towards them, her lips and blue eyes particularly bright when she saw Xavier.
"The club for children whose parents aren't interested in them." (Bianca)
Bianca stood with them and hugged Xavier's arm. She glanced at Yoko and Divina with their parents. They didn't look particularly happy, but they were still talking to them. Kent looked very happy with his family.
"Looks like there are three of us now!" (Xavier)
*Vibrate*
"Sorry, guys, looks like it's just the two of you again. Weems wants to see me." (William)
"Again?" (Bianca)
"An interview with the winner of the inter-academy art competition." (Xavier)
"That's amazing!!" (Bianca)
"And why do you seem prouder than Will?" (Bianca)
Bianca asked the smiling Xavier a question and gave William a light hug to congratulate him on his win.
Music Room - Empty
"Very good, Mr Stone, smile for the camera, not too much, and try to look natural."
"Yes, very good, smile and now change your pose, I like it, keep it up!"
*Flash* *Flash* *Flash* *Flash* *Flash*
William did as he was asked, smiling stylishly and warmly, sitting on a desk, with his back to a large organ or looking out the window. The reporter gave orders and the photographer walked around him taking multiple photos of William.
"Headmistress Weems, this isn't going to be just a short article; we need lots of photos." (William)
William couldn't take it anymore and turned to Headmistress Weems for help. She watched the whole thing unfold with her arms crossed. She still had to lead the parent-child meeting, but she wasn't going to leave William alone with this reporter. The least she could do was accompany William.
William had every right to refuse the interview; the award was already his, but at Weems' request, William accepted it, as it was good publicity for the academy.
"Cough... yes, we have enough. Let's continue with a few more questions and call it a day."
The black-haired reporter with the pretty face coughed somewhat embarrassedly. William looked very good in the photos. For a moment, she thought he was an amateur model, modelling clothes for them.
At the same time - Stone Family Home.
"Andreus, it's been a long time since we last saw each other." (Uriel)
"Hahahaha!!" (Andreus)
"It's been almost a decade since we last saw each other." (Andreus)
Andreus took a seat on the large sofa in the living room, but not before giving Uriel a hug and shaking Catherine's hand. The sofa was white leather with gold buttons between the intersections of the seams.
"You travel everywhere and it's not exactly easy to find you." (Catherine)
Catherine joined the conversation after placing three cups of tea on the table. It took them two hours to get around to the reason for Andreus' sudden visit.
"Let me guess, Will?" (Uriel)
"It's like you, it has started hunting prey on its own. Mrs. Zenda gave me this a few weeks ago." (Andreus)
Andreus took a snapshot out of his breast pocket. In it, a delicate golden spear with a pair of intertwined dragons decorating the blade split a huge black-armoured centipede in half.
"Will, he's not in the photo, but that spear is the one you showed me that time." (Andreus)
(Few runic weapons have that degree of perfection between beauty and lethality, and those that exist are in museums or private collections.) (Andreus)
"A dark centipede, not bad." (Catherine)
"How do you know Will has my father's spear in his hands? It would be normal to assume that I am the one holding the spear in this photo." (Uriel)
(Tsk, sorry Will, I said too much.) (Andreus)
Andreus apologised to William in his mind. He hadn't planned on telling his parents about his little skirmish against the Imp King and his army of Imps, locked in stone.
"I met him a few months ago, during a mission as Fang, to eliminate a swarm of Imps and their king." (Andreus)
"An Imp King...!!" (Catherine)
Catherine's hand holding her cup of tea trembled briefly and spilled a few drops onto the carpet.
"Don't worry, he got to the swarm first. It was impressive, a real well-oiled machine. I saw him wield the spear like a master accustomed to combat." (Andreus)
That sentence visibly reassured both parents. Andreus was a Fang Grando S, and his words carried weight in certain areas, such as combat.
"What happened to the Imp King?" (Catherine)
"I was by his side during the combat. My partner and I fought against his royal guard, and Will fought against the King." (Andreus)
"He's stronger than I was at his age." (Uriel)
"I thought so too. His dragon form was overwhelming. The King didn't stand a chance." (Andreus)
"He definitely inherited that taste for getting into trouble from Cariño." (Catherine)
(I think from both of them.) (Andreus)
Andreus didn't express that thought; he didn't want to deal with the anger of a Dryad in her own territory.
"I think it's about time he joined the Fangs before he gets into trouble with some private group." (Uriel)
"It will be for the best, even if it's only for a few years." (Catherine)
(Until he gets all his main forms.) (Uriel)
Uriel looked at her diamond bracelet, each one with a different coloured gem: ruby, sapphire, emerald, diamond and even a pink diamond. Two bracelets, one on each wrist, were more than just expensive accessories.
Catherine moved her hand and tattoos of various insects covered her hands: blue butterflies, golden beetles, a mantis with an emerald glow on its body, among many others.
Andreus remained silent as he contemplated the couple; speaking now would be uncomfortable for everyone.