The sound of thunder roared through her ears as the winds had been aggressive and fierce; the sheer lighting lit the whole sky as it had been the only thing guiding her way. Prism had been riding along Adrien's back as she had appeared to be running from something. She had something wrapped in a set of cloth as she had been holding onto it for dear life.
She couldn't see what had been ahead of her, nor could she see what had been around her; it was almost as if she had been trapped in that thick fog.
There had been a blast just at Adrien's feet causing him and her to fall onto the ground as they rolled along what she had assumed had been the grass. She saw the bundle had dropped out of arms as she saw it had been just a few feet in front of her.
The bundle moved and appeared to let out a whimper as a strange sound came from within the very clouds.
Prism crawled over to the small bundle as she cradled it in her arms as Adrien stood read to attack. She had been startled when she heard a shriek as Adrien had collapsed suddenly.
"Adrien!" She exclaimed as he looked to be twitching. He groaned as his own mouth had been foaming. She saw a black dart of some kind had been in his neck before it disappeared completely in that of dust.
She heard the sounds come again as she drew her hook sword, keeping a firm hold on the little bundle. She could hear a voice, though she couldn't quite understand what it had been saying to her, let alone if it had been actually speaking to her specifically.
The air around her suddenly felt cold, as she could feel something practically breathing down her neck.
That was when she saw piercing red eyes just above her as it took her by surprise.
All she could was let out a shriek as the world was clouded with red.
***
Prism let out a shriek as she sat up suddenly as she had been on the verge of hyperventilating as the moon had still been in the sky. Her face was as white as a ghost as she had been sweating a storm; she could feel a faint pain from the very scars her body bore as though hot coal had been dragged across her skin.
Asta and Feodora had stirred from the bed pillow as they were awoken by the sound of her screams.
"Pri?" Asta said in a drowsy voice as he rubbed his eye, "You okay?"
Feodora groaned as she let out a yawn, "What? Did you have a nightmare?"
Prism couldn't answer as she had been trying to calm herself; she even went as far as rocking back and forth. She froze up as Feodora placed her hand on her head, giving it a couple of rubs.
"Nightmare, nightmare~" Feodora said drowsingly, before she gave a wave, removing her hand from her head, "Go away~!"
Asta sighed as he shook his head, "Feo, that only works for headaches."
Prism had been taken back when she felt Asta's arms around her; she started to breathe normally as it seemed like his own heartbeat was guiding him. "Here." He said as he did this, "This will help soothe you."
It was odd for Prism, though she could feel that the pain had started to subside; she returned the hug as she smiled softly.
Feodora gave a soft chuckle, "I'll settle for second best then." She soon took Prism's hand as she squeezed it; in turn she returned the gesture, "Let's hurry and get some sleep."
"Yeah, I know." Asta said.
With that said, the three of them fell asleep as Prism had been in between the two of them hand in hand, as her expression had been more peaceful than before. Neither of them seemed to have minded each other's company as each of them had their own pleasant dreams.
***
-Hage Village-
It had been the early morning and work had been busy as usual for Lily. Since Asta, Yuno, and Feodora along with Prism left the village they were a bit short on hand when it came to chores. Though Lily didn't mind it one bit; in fact she liked to be kept on her toes. As she had just finished hanging the last of the laundry for the day, a messenger bird soon flew through a portal and handed her a total of two letters before it disappeared through a portal again.
Lily had been surprised by who had written the letters as both envelopes were labeled, Yuno and Asta.
Everyone had gathered in the church to see the big news as all of them were excited.
"Well done Yuno!" Father Orsi said in tears, after reading Yuno's letter, "He made it into the Magic Knights! He's truly our pride!"
"Yuno's so cool!" Hollo said.
"So cool!" Aruru added.
"I have to let the whole village know at once!" Father Oris said as he took hold of his broom.
"Sister, what does it say about Asta?" Recca asked.
"And Feo!" Aruru said.
"And Pri!" Hollo added.
Nash soon looked over Asta's letter, "Man his handwriting sucks. Does it say when he's coming home?"
"We'll have to cheer him up when he comes back." Father Orsi said, "I'm sure even Asta would be depressed about that. We'll have a potato party for sure."
Lily's expression soon brightened as she was able to make out what had been written. "He--He says he passed!" Lily said, "Feodora and Prism too!"
"HUH!?" Most of the kids and especially Father Orsi exclaimed.
"They passed? All three of them!?" Recca said, "Seriously?!"
"The-Then I guess Asta won't be coming home, nor is Feodora." Father Orsi said, trying to sound casual, "I see, they all passed."
"Does that mean Prism won't be back either?" Aruru asked.
"What are you talking about?" Lily said, "Prism promised she would. You'll see her again soon."
The little ones couldn't help but smile at this as they looked excited. "Alright!" Father Orsi said as he was on his broom, "I'm gonna go give the village the good news! This is the first news we got since Hage Village was founded!"
Lily had a smile on her face, "Asta, Yuno, Feodora, Prism… Congratulations. Keep doing your best."
***
-Black Bulls Base-
The sun had risen over the horizon, as Asta, Prism, and Feodora were sound asleep on the bed pillow. The three of them had been practically tangled in the covers as one of them had their body on the floor as they were letting out soft snores.
Even Adrien had been rolled over on his back as his tongue had been sticking out on his side. The first to stir awake had been Asta as he sat himself up before he let out a yawn. He looked to the skylight above their heads as he looked to where Prism's Black Bulls robe hung.
He couldn't help but smile, "It wasn't a dream! Thank goodness!"
Asta soon jumped at the banging on the door, as the other two girls stirred a little. Then came a familiar voice, "HEY ASTA! DUMMY GIRL! ICE QUEEN, WAKE UP!"
"Ohh Plu-Plu?" Prism said in a drowsy tone of voice, "Give me five minutes."
"Sleep… Need more sleep." Feodora said as she curled up into a ball.
"OH NO YA DON'T! AFTER YOUR RACKET LAST NIGHT I COULDN'T SLEEP A WINK!" Pluck shouted.
"Plu-Plu… Give me ten more minutes..." Prism replied as she yawned before she hugged the pillow, "Bed so soft and fluffy… Haven't felt comfort like this since forever…"
Pluck growled as he said "SWORD CREATION MAGIC: WOODEN PUNISHMENT!"
Asta had been taken back when he heard someone smack him hard before another familiar voice shouted, "IDIOT! THAT'S YOUR BEST FRIEND IN THERE! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!"
"OI! IT'S THEIR FAULT I'M SUPER STRESSED!" Pluck retorted, "AHH GEEZ!"
"HEY! YOUR PARENTS TOLD YOU ABOUT USING YOUR THIRD POWERFUL SWORD!"
"OBAN OBA!"
Asta jumped at the sound of an explosion in the hallway. "WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT!?" He exclaimed in his head.
"Hey just calm down! Maybe we can get some coffee for you!" Magna told him.
"NO!" Pluck shouted.
"So damn noisy…" Feodora said.
Feodora groaned as she rolled over, as she opened the door a crack. "Uh Feo, what are you--" Asta started to say.
"Ice Magic: Lynx Blizzard." She said in a daze as she tossed down a familiar looking ice sphere.
If Asta had been standing in the same place as them, he would've been standing in a very familiar ice cloud. Though all he could get by was the sound of Magna and Pluck screaming just below the ladder.
Pluck had yelled through the door "SERIOUSLY?! OKAY TWO CAN PLAY AT THAT GAME REFLECTED MIRROR!"
Soon Asta heard the sound of a thundercloud striking both Magna and Pluck, as the sound of their cries made him jump; he soon saw a cloud of black smoke come afterwards.
"W-why me?" Magna groaned.
Asta opened the door fully as he saw a familiar woman, though she appeared to have silver white hair and gold eyes which took him back a little; especially since he saw long pointed ears.
"Ms Yukiko?" Asta said, just shocked and confused.
"Sorry about that, my son can be a bit angry when he hasn't had his sleep." Yukiko told him.
"I-It's okay but--" Asta said, still confused, "--You--You look a lot different from yesterday, if you don't mind me saying."
Yukiko was confused till she realized what exactly he had been talking about, "Oh right, that's because I wasn't wearing one of these." She took out what appeared to be an earring from her pocket to show him. "It's a magical item laced with cloaking magic. With this baby we can blend in with the humans when we're out there. We usually take it off when we're sleeping or when we're not anywhere but here. Myself, Pluck Vandy and Jubei are the only ones that wear these."
"Why would you want to do that?" Asta couldn't help but ask.
Yukiko sighed as she merely answered to Asta, "Not many people would accept our kind or rather what we truly are...We're lucky to have someone like Yami and the Wizard King to protect our family. We even worry about Prism like she was one of our own." She looked to Prism after she went up the ladder as she added "Cad and I worry about our own children..even Pluck. We worry about her the most. She's the only halfbreed ever born among our people. She's neither a human nor an elf. If people outside of this base and the other captains ever find that out--"
"They're not going to." Asta reassured her, before he gave her a smile, "We made a promise to her before coming out here. We'll look after her Miss Yukiko! I promise!"
Yukiko gave Asta a smile as she gave him a pat on the head, "You're a good kid Asta. I can see what Prism sees in you."
Asta couldn't help but laugh sheepishly before Prism sat up from the bed pillow; despite her having braids they could see she had a bit of a bedhead. "Aunt Yuki?" Prism said, rubbing her eye, "Good morning."
"Morning hon!" Yukiko said to Prism, "Did you sleep well?"
Prism gave a lazy kind of smile before she nodded; Yukiko couldn't help but laugh at how cute she looked, "You kids better get ready. You're gonna get a grand tour of the Black Bulls base."
"... Do I have to participate?" Feodora groaned as she turned on her side, as she crawled underneath the sheet, "... I wanna sleep for another hour."
"You have to." Yukiko replied, "It's only fair."
Feodora poked her head out of the blanket as she couldn't help but groan as her face planted in the cushion. It wasn't long before they heard a--
"OW!"
Everyone jumped at this, as Fedora seemed more awake by the sudden noise. "That sounded like Karasu!" Prism said as she stood and went down the ladder; the others had soon followed.
Prism had soon arrived at Karasu's room where he was on the floor, just groaning. She even noticed that a stone pillar had been in front of his room; He had been wearing a simple white undershirt revealing a set of chest muscles as well as black shorts, his right hand had still been covered with a set of bandages as Yoshi was at his side.
"You okay?" Prism asked as she helped him up.
"Ye-yeah I'm fine." Karasu replied as he rubbed his nose and groaned, "I ran into this pillar. I'm pretty sure it wasn't here before."
"What the heck!?" Asta exclaimed as he had rounded the corner, "That definitely wasn't there when I left!"
"I knew it." Karasu said as he was able to recover.
"The hell?" Feodora said, "Did someone decide to pull a prank?"
"Even if it was, it's a terrible one." He said.
"Oh that--" Magna said, as he noticed the pillar, "--Don't worry about it too much. The base changes its shape all the time."
The four of them looked to Magna surprised at this sort of thing. "Wha-What!?" Asta exclaimed, "For real?!"
"That--" Feodora said, "--Doesn't seem possible."
Prism's eyes sparkled with awe before she asked, "This is just like that book, father read to me once! Hey Magna, is it a spell or a curse?" She gasped, "Oh my gosh, what if it's both!? That would be cool yet terrifying. Though not as terrifying as a haunting." She couldn't help but shiver, "Please tell me it's not haunted!"
"You're into that sort of thing!?" Magna exclaimed.
Pluck sighed as he replied, "You're right on both things, dummy girl." He rubbed his head. "I got used to the changes that happened at random when I was here." He stretched before he said "Before we start, I need some coffee.."
"Before we start, what?" Asta asked.
"Ain't it obvious?" Magna said, "You're in for a treat! Pluck and I are gonna give your four newbies the tour of the Black Bulls super cool base!"
Pluck rolled his eyes as he added, "Super cool? Give me a break. It's nothing like that."
"HEY! WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SUCH A BUZZKILL?!" Magna shouted.
"Truth hurts." Pluck told him. "Deal with it."
Prism gave a sigh as she said "There he goes being too honest again."
Yukiko said as she slapped herself in the face, "Honestly, that boy has to learn to tone it down, once in a while."
Feodora asked Prism. "How is this jerk your childhood friend again?"
"He's a good guy to be around!" Prism said with a smile.
"Doesn't seem like it." Feodora and Karasu both said.
"HURRY UP AND GET DRESSED!" Magna soon shouted, making the four of them jump, "WE'RE STARTING THIS TOUR RIGHT AWAY!"
"YES SIR, MR SUNGLASSES!" Asta shouted as he saluted.
Pluck couldn't help but snicker at this, "Mr. Sunglasses?"
Magna had shouted, "HEY! WHAT'S SO FUNNY MR. SMARTYPANTS!"
"There's that smile, Plu-Plu!" Prism said with a smile.
Pluck couldn't help but say embarrassed as he hid his face, "Shut up."
Magna cleared his throat before he told Asta, "Hey moron! Don't call me Mr. Sunglasses! The Great Magna will do just fine!"
"Yes sir Moron Great Magna!" Asta shouted.
"LEAVE THE MORON PART OUT!" Magna yelled as this time the whole group couldn't help but laugh, "DON'T LAUGH AT THAT!"
***
The four of them were quick to get dressed for the day as they put on the finishing touch on their outfits by putting on their official Black Bulls robe and Asta had set on his own headband and thus the tour began after Karasu had gotten Sachiko; of course Adrien stayed close to Prism. The first stop they made was a very large and spacious room with a set of long tables that looked to be brand new all in a row as they noticed Charmy had been present in the room as she was eating.
"Bi-Bime i elena!" Prism said in sheer awe by the size.
"This right here is the cafeteria!" Magna said, "What do you think, it's stupidly huge right!?"
"Yeah, it's really big!" Asta exclaimed.
"A little too big for my taste." Karasu said.
"Are you guys compensating or something here?" Feodora asked curiously.
"No offense but isn't this a bit much for a cafeteria?" Prism asked Magna curiously.
"Not really, why?" Magna replied.
SPLAT!
Feodora stumbled and fell right on her back when she felt a pie hit her right in the face as the rest of them jumped.
"Food fight!" They heard Jubei shout.
They looked over and saw two familiar younger siblings with their ears pointed and their hair white hair practically jumping and tossing plates of food at each other.
Pluck had shouted, "OI! WHAT ARE YOU IDIOTS DOING?!"
"Having our breakfast war!" Vandy replied before he tossed bacon at Jubei like they were ninja stars, "FEEL MY WRATH OF THE BACON!!"
Jubei shouted as she threw a sausage like she had been throwing a knife, "NOT IF MY SAUSAGE OF PAIN HAS ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT!"
Both the bacon and sausage hit them deadcenter as they fell over on the table.
"A BREAKFAST WAR!?" Asta exclaimed out of confusion as he had been fanning Feodora who had been knocked out.
Magna had shouted, "HEY! YOU BRATS! IT'S TOO EARLY FOR THIS!"
"SILENCE OUTSIDER!" Jubei shoute as she fired an egg from a minicanon as it hit him so hard it knocked him over.
"MAGNA!!" Prism and Asta exclaimed.
Sachiko was about to join in on the fun before Karasu pulled her back. "No." He told her, "Just no."
Vandy soon yelled as he took what looked to be grapes onto his slingshot, "NOW PREPARE MY ULTIMATE ATTACK!!"
Pluck growled as he said "Oh, that's it--" His grimoire opened before he said "--Sword Creation Magic: Gum-Gum Stickler!"
Out of his grimoire was a sword that had a handle like foil but the blade was pink and sticky like gum.
"How many swords do you have in there?!" Asta shouted as his eyes sparkled.
"Enough to punish these guys!" Pluck shouted as he hurled the gum blade which formed a hand at the kids, only for him to be hit with cake.
"C-Cake?!" Pluck exclaimed.
"NO, MY CAKE!!" Charmy exclaimed.
"Plu-Plu you donkey face!" Prism shouted before she was hit with blueberry muffins along with Asta, Karasu and Sachiko.
"YOU LITTLE PU--Ow!" Magana started to shout before he was hit with pancakes.
Cadfan soon walked into the cafeteria as he noticed what had been happening. His eyebrow twitched before he took out his grimoire. "Javelin Creation Magic--GREAT DIVIDER!"
From his grimoire, a Giant Silver -Blue Javelin came out as he smacked the middle of the floor between Jubei and Vandy, making them freeze.
"H-Hi pop!" Vandy said nervously.
"Mo--Morning!" Jubei said as she shook, "This isn't what it looks like."
Cadfan said nothing as he said. "You're both grounded. For two weeks."
"HUH?!" Vandy and Jubei shouted.
Feodora soon sat up as she got the pie out of her face; she smacked her lips a little, "Huh… Pecan."
***
It almost seemed like the very next second that they were in the baths; thankfully it had been separate by gender though they could still hear each other through the wall. Not to mention--It had been extremely hot much to Prism, Feodora and Karasu's dismay, as they were practically dying from the heat alone. The only ones that seemed to have enjoyed it had been Addeline and Adrien.
Addeline had been floating along the water as Adrien was merely swimming.
"This here is the bath!" Magna said as he didn't seem phased as he sat in the water that was practically boiling.
"W-Wow!" Asta said as he had been trying to sustain himself, "It's hot!"
"This kind of heat is nothing to a member of the Black Bulls!" He said, "Right Pluck?"
Pluck replied as he had been practically slouched over on the side of the bath, "Oh yeah, sure! If I can ask--WHY THE HELL IS SO HOT, DAMN IT?!"
"What?! I thought after a whole year you would be used to it!" Magna said.
"NO! NOT EVEN THE SLIGHTEST!" Pluck exclaimed "I THOUGHT YAMI AND DAD WOULD HAVE FIXED THIS BY NOW?! NOT EVEN THE NEW GUYS CAN HANDLE IT!"
"Dying…" Karasu groaned as he had been slumped over on the bath edge, "... I'm dying…"
"CAN WE MAKE THIS WATER A LITTLE COLDER!?" They heard Feodora shout over the wall, "I'M PRACTICALLY MELTING OVER HERE!"
Pluck shouted at Magna, "SEE? EVEN ICE QUEEN CAN'T HANDLE IT!"
"DON'T CALL ME ICE QUEEN YA STUCK UP SWORD TWAT!" Feodora shouted, as Pluck jumped by the loud banging on the other side.
"BAH! THAT'S BECAUSE SHE'S USED TO THE COLD!" Magna argued. "GIVE IT TIME!"
"YOU SAID THAT TO EVERY NEW MEMBER THAT WALKS IN!" Pluck retorted.
Magna soon noticed that Asta looked like he was about to give in, "Oh? You gonna get out?"
"No-Nope!" Asta exclaimed, "I'm not done yet!"
"You're… Definitely not human…" Karasu groaned.
"It's hot." Gordon who had been sitting beside them mumbled, "I want to add cold water. Hanging out naked is nice though."
Pluck flinched back as he cringed, "Seriously? I wish I didn't hear that."
They soon heard a knock at the wall, before they heard Feodora's voice, "Uh--I don't want to alarm anyone--But Prism is face planted in the water."
"EH!?" Asta and Pluck exclaimed.
Asta soon started to knock on the wall, "PRI! WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T GO IN THE LIGHT!"
Pluck turned to Magna as he shouted "SEE?! EVEN DUMMY GIRL IS DYING!" He turned to his duck who was floating in the water as he said "Addeline! Get her out!"
"Quack!" Addeline saluted as she got out of the water and began to make her way to the bath with Feodora just screaming as she shouted "DON'T LAND THERE YA DAMN DUCK! THAT'S PRIVATE!"
"QUACK!" Addeline shouted as they heard a whack.
"OW!" They heard Prism shout, "Addi!! Why did you slap me there of all places!?"
"Your welcome!" Pluck yelled before he told Magna, "Seriously, you need to get that water thing fixed!"
"Yeah yeah." Magna complained.
***
They soon exited the baths as they had gotten dried off and gotten on their outfits. Prism sighed with content as she fixed up her ponytail. "You know despite that intense heat it felt nice." Prism said as she had the towel over her shoulders, "It's like that time we found that hot spring, right Plu-Plu?"
"Yeah...Only the Hot Spring was nice and that abomination of a bath wasn't." Pluck said.
"You guys had a hot spring in your village too?" Asta asked.
"Yeah--" Prism replied, "--At least I think there was. I remember Plu-Plu used to help his sisters and I--"
Pluck covered her mouth immediately as he said while his face was red, "OKAY OKAY! Let's not remember that!"
"Okay." She replied awkwardly as her mouth was still covered.
"I think you and I have a very different definition of what a hot spring is supposed to be like." Karasu said after drying off his hair; it wasn't long before he noticed a couple of strings just down the hall, "Oh yeah I noticed this last night. What's all this supposed to be?"
"Yeah, it seems like a bit much to put in." Feodora said.
"Well how else are we supposed to keep out perverts?" Magna said, "If any of us guys try to cross, you'll be killed by trap magic."
"I take it back." Feodora said, "I like it."
"I don't know, it seems a bit overkill, even if it is for security…" Prism said as she shrugged.
Pluck sighed as he said, "You'd be surprised."
Magna soon stepped towards a certain door that had been just near the bathing area, "And this--" He soon opened it with a swing, "--Is the bathroom!"
Everyone's faces paled while some turned red at a certain sight while they felt a threatening aura.
"I'll kill you."
"SORRY CAPTAIN YAMI SIR!" Magna exclaimed.
Thus, the whole group found themselves running down the hall like their own lives depended on it as they all screamed, till finally they stopped at a corner to catch their breath.
"Ana latta as me…" Prism said trying to get rid of the mental image as her face was practically heated with embarrassment.
"Welp, that's an image I'm not gonna get out of my brain." Feodora said as she rubbed her eyes before she shuddered.
Pluck yelled at Magna as he smacked him, "IDIOT! WHY DID YOU OPEN THE BATHROOM DOOR?! EVERYONE KNOWS NOT TO INTERRUPT YAMI WHILE HE'S TAKING A CRAP!"
"HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW HE WAS IN THERE!?" Magna yelled.
"YOU KNOCK LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!" Karasu yelled, "DON'T JUST OPEN THE DOOR YOU STREET PUNK IDIOT!!"
Pluck added as he shouted, "YEAH! COMMON SENSE!"
Magna had yelled, "OH DON'T BE RIDICULOUS!"
"No no, I agree with Stuck up Truth Boy and Karasu." Feodora added. "That was pretty stupid."
"I have a name you know." Pluck told her.
"I know and I don't care." She replied in a harsh tone of voice.
"What was pretty stupid?"
The group jumped slightly when they saw a familiar set of siblings, which had been the triplets, Vandy and Jubei as they looked to be carrying buckets of meat and fish.
"Oh hey!" Asta said with a smile and a wave, "The triple A's right?"
"That's us!" Aisling said with a wink and a smile of her own, "Don't wear it out Asta!"
"Geez--" Karasu said as he noticed the smell, "--Why does that smell so terrible?"
"That's because it's fish!" Vandy replied, "We caught these guys yesterday for food!"
"Food?" Feodora said, "You don't expect to eat raw food, and--" She pointed to the younger siblings, "--You two started a food fight."
"What started that anyway?" Prism asked.
"Oh, we were having what we liked to call a ship war." Vandy replied with a smile, as it had shocked them a bit, "Auntie Vanessa showed us this really cool book, and I said this character Travis deserves this other character Sadie more!"
Jubei had shouted, "AS IF! SADIE'S AN INDEPENDENT WOMAN! SHE DOESN'T NEED A MAN! IF ANYTHING JAKE IS THE PERFECT CHOICE! STRONG! POWERFUL AND TAKES NAMES!"
Vandy had yelled, "No! Travis deserves her! Girls go for the soft dependable guys, everyone knows that!"
"Nice guys finish last, Vandy!" Jubei shouted.
"Sounds like it's one heck of an argument." Prism said as a familiar light lemur made itself known on her shoulders.
"Oh it is!" Vandy said, "We'll show you the book sometime! And you'll see that Travis deserves her!"
Jubei had argued, "IN YOUR DREAMS!"
"Does that happen often?" Asta asked Pluck.
"More than you know.." Pluck groned
"So--" Karasu said motioning to the buckets they were each holding, "--Please tell me you're not gonna have those for breakfast."
"Oh no, these aren't for us." Aine said, "They're for Yami's pets, the babies and our partners!"
"It's one of our daily chores around here." Aidan said.
Most of them looked a bit confused as they looked at one another with confusion. "Did you say--" Prism said, "--Yami has pets?"
"And--What was that about babies?" Asta asked.
***
The four of them had found themselves standing in front of what appeared to be a cage as three giant beasts were gnawing at the bars. They could tell just from looking at them, they saw it had been magical beasts.
"These are pets?" Feodora said as she looked at Magna and Pluck with a look on their face.
Pluck replied with a sigh, "You may not believe it...but yeah.."
"These are not pets, they're goddamn beasts." Karasu said.
"It's sort of Captain Yami's hobby." Magna said.
"His hobby!?" Asta exclaimed, "You call this a hobby!?"
"Aw, you poor things." Prism said, "You guys must not like it there." She looked over to Adrien who was hiding in the corner; all they could make out was a shaking tail, "Yeah bud. I know how you feel."
Addeline came out from Pluck's bag as she said "QUACK!"
The beast suddenly were in a position like they were docile from the very beginning.
"Holy--" Karasu said "Did that duck.."
"Oh don't worry, they see Addi as their commander." Aishling said.
"She's really strange.." Feodora said.
"Does Yami let them out at all?" Prism asked.
"Not as far as we know." Aidan said, "He does say he lets them out for walks, though ma doesn't really believe him."
"Mom sometimes takes them out with Addi!" Vandy said.
Magna soon fixed his glasses before he said to the four of them, "Starting today--You guys will help out the Barbados's feed all the animals!"
"WHAT!?" Asta, Karasu and Feodora exclaimed as Prism still looked at the animals.
"Come on, it's an honorable job!" Magna had retorted, "I really don't want to let you have it, but I will!"
"ARE YOU BEING LAZY!?" Feodora shouted.
Pluck sighed as he slapped himself in the face, "Good grief."
"Well--" Aisling said, before she handed off the bucket of meat, "--Since it's Magna's say so, why don't you guys feed them?"
"Won't they eat us whole?" Asta asked.
"Not if you keep your palms flat." Vandy said as they couldn't help but have a look.
"Besides, Addeline will make sure that doesn't happen." Pluck said as he picked her up, "She's basically their boss."
Addeline gave Asta a salute as she said "QUACK!"
"Don't worry, we only have to feed these guys twice a day!" Jubei said, "And we all take turns so it's fair!"
"So, who wants to go first?" Vandy asked.
Asta, Feodora, and Karasu looked at one another before they looked at the cage. Immediately they thought of a way to settle it.
"Rock, paper, scissors--!" The three of them said, "--Shoot!"
The three of them threw their hands as they were playing rock, paper, scissors. While Feodora and Karasu had paper, Asta unfortunately had rock.
"AH MAN!" Asta exclaimed, "EVERYTIME!"
"Nice knowing you Dum-Dum." Feodora said, patting him on the shoulder as she earned a look from him.
Aidan soon handed him a whole piece of meat on a bone, "Here you go. Knock yourself out."
Asta gulped a little as he went over to the beast while holding the meat in his hand. Asta soon held the meat at arms length as he had been doing his best to stop his arms from shaking.
"He-Here you go!" He said, "Good, nice beasts!"
The moment he had gotten close, one of the beast had gotten through the bars and just put Asta inside its mouth causing everyone to freak out.
"OH GOD NO!" Aidan exclaimed.
"FOR MANA SAKE!!" Aine shouted.
Pluck shouted, "GOOD LORD MAN!"
Addeline's eyes widened before she shouted "QUACK! QUACK!" she began to whack the beast in the nose. Though it didn't seemed to have worked as the beast started to tighten its grip on Asta.
"STOP, THAT'S JUST MAKING IT WORSE!" Asta shouted in the beast's mouth, as he kicked his legs, "GAH, TEETH! THAT'S TEETH!"
"DO SOMETHING STUCK-UP!" Feodora yelled at Pluck.
"What's it look like I'm doing, Ice Queen!?!" Pluck shouted as he got one part of the beat's jaw, trying to pry it open with his wooden sword
"YOU'RE NOT TRYING HARD ENOUGH!" Karasu yelled.
Pluck had yelled, "I'M TRYING JUST DAMN FINE! YOU HAVE A BETTER IDEA?!"
Prism immediately took action as she quickly went over to the beast; she started to scratch the creature's cheek as much to their surprise the creature had started to relax. "What is she doing?!" Feodora exclaimed.
Pluck had replied, "Even I have no idea-"
The creature appeared to let out a purr of some kind before her hand moved underneath the creature's chin, and just like that he collapsed as he let go of Asta allowing him to breathe while Pluck nearly fell on his head. "Oh my God Pri! You're a lifesaver!" Asta said, "Thank you!"
"It's no problem." Prism replied sheepishly as she turned red a little, "I used to help my mother take care of magical beasts all the time. She showed me all sorts of tricks, even her secret ones."
Pluck groaned as he said "Right. Forgot about that."
"Aren't you supposed to be her best friend?" Magna asked.
Addeline shouted at the Beasts as she began scolding them "QUACK! QUACK QUACK QUACK! QUACK!" The beasts simply whimpered in reply.
"Woah--Are they bowing?" Karasu asked.
"She really is a commander." Feodora said.
"More like a mom." Pluck groaned.
"Still doesn't change the fact that she's a weird duck." She told him.
Addeline whacked Pluck and Fedora's shins as she said "QUACK!"
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" Feodora shouted.
"That's her way of discipline.." Pluck said with a groan.
"I'm about to make this duck into a damn popsicle!" Feodora said with a glare.
Pluck exclaimed as he hugged Addeline, "HOW DARE YOU! ADDI MAY BE ROUGH AROUND THE EDGES BUT SHE'S STILL A BABY!"
"QUACK!" Addeline shouted.
"I'm still gonna freeze her." She said with a growl earning a look from Pluck.
"Please tell me all the other magical beasts aren't like this." Asta said as he wiped away the salvia.
"Oh no, not on the farm!" Vandy replied.
"Farm?" Asta, Feodora, and Karasu asked a bit confused.
Prism couldn't help but gasp as her eyes sparkled, "You mean you rebuilt the farm?"
"Oh yeah, thanks to mom and Captain Yami." Aine replied, "And dare I say we made it better!"
"Sorry but--" Asta started to say as he got in between them, "--What exactly are you talking about here?"
***
The whole group had exited the Black Bulls Base and found themselves going towards the back away as they saw it had been putting distance between them and the base. They were surprisingly far away from it actually as they walked along the path.
"This is our little slice of home that we were able to rebuild!" Aishling soon explained, "We were grateful to Captain Yami for assisting us in the reconstruction."
"Our village was famous for housing and rescuing Magical Beasts--" Aidan soon added, "--We nursed them and gave them a home. And since our Village had pretty large plains, they all loved it."
"And fun fact--When warriors elves, and well warriors in general turn ten, we went through the equivalent of what Magna calls an initiation." Aine said, "And once our Magical Beast is chosen, we're companions for life."
"Whoa, seriously?!" Asta asked, "Does that mean you choose the Magical Beast?"
"Not exactly." Prism replied, as she scratched Adrien's head, "It's like how spirit guides choose their partner. We can't choose our Magical Beast, they choose us. They have their own special method of doing that."
Pluck had added, "Some are more unique than others."
"That explains why you have the duck?" Feodora asked as Pluck groned in reply.
"Does that mean you got one too?" Karasu asked Vandy.
"Of course!" Vandy replied, "I can't wait for you guys to meet her!"
"Oh yeah, how is Phina?" Prism asked him.
"She's been a really good girl this past year!" Vandy said, "She's swallowing less people now."
"SWALLOWING!?" Asta, Feodora and Karasu exclaimed.
"Oh yeah." Pluck added. "She swallowed me once before she warmed up to me. Now she just gives hello licks like Adrien." As if right on cue, Adrien gave Pluck one big lick as it made his hair stand up as Asta, Prism, Feodora and Karasu couldn't help but snicker, "Like so."
Adrien gave a screech as his tail wagged.
Magna soon said with a groan, "At least she's your favorite. She keeps trying to swallow me on sight."
"Cheer up Uncle Mag, she'll warm up to you soon." Vandy said, "We just gotta do those trust exercises we talked about!"
Magna had said, in an annoyed tone, "Yeah...When pigs fly."
They soon came to a clearing as Asta, Feodora, Karasu and Sachiko were taken back by such a sight. There they saw what looked to be a cottage of some sort with a large open wooden fence were they saw magical beasts as far as the eye could see; they saw some were big and some were small, and a couple looked to be mothers as they tended to their little ones.
"Wow.." Asta said as his eyes sparkled.
"Holy crap." Karasu said.
"Okay--" Feodora said, "--This is impressive."
"Bime i eleana--!" Prism said as she had a smile, "--This is even better than I thought!"
The triplets and younger siblings only smiled at this sort of thing before Aishling stepped forward. She soon placed her fingers to her mouth before she let out a whistle which had shocked them.
"Alan!" She soon called out, "Come here!"
They were taken back by what they could hear was that of a deer call; Asta, Feodora and Karasu were taken back when they saw what looked to be a silver white deer run alongside the fence as it's eyes were an unnatural purple like that of her hair. It's antlers had been that of branches as white as the clouds themselves. As the deer had gotten closer, they saw it had been twice the size of any deer they had seen as it had possessed an unnatural streak of silver along its body similar to Adriens, and not to mention it had an unnaturally long tail similar to that of a dog.
He had hopped over the fence with ease before he nuzzled his head against Aishling.
"Morning Alan." Aishling said as she soon fed him some slices of apples and vegetables in the palm of her hand, "It's always good to see you."
"He's--Big." Feodora commented.
Asta said as he had been practically in awe, "B-Big Deer.."
"Su-Sugoi…" Sachiko said as her eyes sparkled.
Karasu said with his jaw slightly dropped, "Holy crap.."
"This here is Alan, my partner." Aishling said, "He's a bit here and there especially with his kind of magic, but he's more of a people person."
Addeline came into Alan's view as she said "QUACK!" Alan merely gave a huff as it blew Addeline off her feet and onto Pluck before he returned to nuzzling Aisling. "See what I mean?" She said, handing him another slice of apple.
Pluck sighed as he fixed Addeline up, "And almost every time Addi wants to start something."
Alan's ears soon twitched before he noticed that familiar human elf girl as Prism herself had little spirits both large and small appeared around her. Alan stepped towards her as he sniffed her a couple of times before he started to nibble on her ponytail.
Prism couldn't help but giggle as she gently pried Alan from her before she hugged him, "I missed you too buddy."
Adrien soon approached Alan as they gave each other a sniff; Alan merely gave Adrien a lick on the nose before Adrien let out a small sneeze.
"Aw--" Asta said, "--I guess he really likes you and Adrien."
"Like I said, I have a way with animals." Prism said with a smile.
Alan soon looked to Asta as he gave him a couple sniffs along his head. It hadn't been long before he started to nibble on his hair, surprising them; Prism and Aishling gave a laugh. "That means he likes you." Aishling said as she fixed her hat.
Asta gave a laugh as he said, "Hey! That tickles!"
` "Well, at least he's not trying to eat you." Feodora said.
They soon heard the sound of thundering footsteps coming towards them. "Oop, here they come." Aidan said as Prism seemed to recognize them.
They saw what looked to be a silver frog with pink eyes and purple spots, a large spotted jaguar with green eyes, and a white wolf with golden eyes came running.
Prism immediately hopped over the fence before she allowed the blue jaguar whom they noticed had a total of six tails on its end enveloped her in a bear hug as she laughed; the jaguar started to rub his head on hers as they heard him let out a purr, while the white wolf who appeared to have a set of stones embedded into his paws as he started to let out a whimper as he rubbed his body against her own.
What they saw had been a giant frog hopping over to her side as she gave a nuzzle while licking her.
"River! Kiba! Phina!" Prism said as she giggled, "Hi buddies! I missed you guys too!"
"Wow--" Asta said, "--They really do love her."
"Guess she's the favorite around her." Karasu said.
"They may be our partners, but they all love Prism equally." Aine said, "Her mom and dad used to help out with the baby beasts in our village. Their family practically raised them."
Magna had said with a smile, "She really is the princess alright."
Pluck sighed as he said, "Yep they see her more as a mother."
Phina noticed Pluck as she hopped towards him giving him a kiss before nuzzling him.
"Good morning to you too." Pluck groaned.
"QUACK QUACK!" Addeline shouted as she tried to get Phina off.
"RIBBIT!" Phina said as she fled in fear of Addeline.
Addeline started to chase after Phina with a stick as she started to hop away. "Phina no! Not again!" Vandy shouted.
"No way, that's your partner?" Asta said, shocked.
"Yup--" Vandy said with an awkward groan, "--That's Phina."
"How is she scared of a duck?" Feodora said, "She's basically a giant."
"You will be surprised." Pluck told her, "Phina may be big but Addeline's scares her."
"SERIOUSLY, WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THAT DUCK?!" Feodora shouted.
"I ask that question all the time." Magna said.
Aine soon handed each of them a bucket; ones that had filled with their own food like that of fish, veggies and various types of meats. Aine said, "Now the way this works, is that we feed them based on their diets. Basically beasts that look like my pal Kiba here get meat like fish, pork or beef, if they look like Alan, they get the greens and veggies. Though some have other specific diets that you should be aware of since some of them have upset tummies." She soon handed each of them a list, "This should help things out till you get it memorized."
Asta, Feodora, Prism and Karasu looked at the list though they each couldn't help but cringe as they noticed how--Detailed it had been.
"W-wow--" Karasu said to Aine, "Did...you draw this?"
"Nope." Aine replied, "I can't draw to save someone's life."
"It's true." Aisling and Aidan said.
"That's Plu-Plu's handiwork. I'd recognize it from anywhere." Prism said.
"Who-Whoa-" Asta said.
"So--So many details…" Feodora said, "Some I wish I hadn't seen…"
Pluck had said insulted, "WELL EXCUSE YOU FOR NOT KNOWING FINE ART IF IT HIT YOU IN THE FACE LIKE A BRICK!"
"You're THAT offended?" Feodora asked, surprised.
"You should never underestimate the sensitivity of an artist." Vandy said.
"I can see that." Asta said, shocked.
"Well--" Prism said as she cleared her throat, "--At least you've improved on the faces. I remembered you used to be terrible. You couldn't even draw a nose right."
Pluck said embarrassed, "Haha, don't remind me.."
"Welp, no time like the present--" Aisling said, "--Asta and Prism can feed the mom and babies, and you guys can help us feed the grown ups."
"Won't these guys eat us too?" Karasu asked.
"Oh no, they're more friendly to people." Aidan replied, "Though, I'd advise caution on the ones that are more food aggressive."
Magna had added, "I can vouch, one of them almost bit my arm off!"
"Well that's comforting to know, Street Punk." Feodora said in a sarcastic tone.
Magna had yelled, "I HOPE YOU FACE THE SAME THING I DID!"
"IF I END UP LOSING A LIMB I'LL KILL YOU IN YOUR SLEEP, YOU DAMN STREET PUNK!" Feodora yelled.
Pluck bonked them both on the head before telling them, "Now remember, you have to give them the right food or else they'll have an upset stomach and we would not want to be there when it happens..."
"Don't you mean you?" Ashling said before she earned a growl from her big brother
"Whoa, even your own siblings despise you." Karasu said.
Pluck had told him, "Well I never asked for them but here they are."
Thus the whole group went to their assigned tasks on the farm, with Prism and Asta going over to where the mothers and babies had been. It had been in a separate location as they saw what looked to be that of a cottage. Asta could see the small magical beasts playing with each other while the mothers kept a close eye on them. He could see their fur or scales shining off the sunlight.
"Whoa…" Asta said, amazed, "...They're beautiful."
"Yeah they are." Prism said, "I could never get tired of looking at them."
Asta was about to approach before Prism stopped him, "Let me go first." She said softly, "I'll show you one of my mother's tricks."
Asta couldn't help but wonder what she had meant by this, though she went ahead of him; he stayed where he was as he saw her approach them.
The beasts seemed to have gotten hostile as he noticed that their bodies seemed to have changed. Prism stopped just a few feet in front of them as one of them approached her baring teeth. He saw she looked like she had been ready to bite the head of the human elf girl, though Prism stood her ground.
With a deep breath she held out both of her hands towards the creature as she had squatted a little. He saw the beast seemed to have calmed a little as she had hidden her teeth.
Prism soon clenched her left hand before putting out her right; she shut her eyes as she turned from the creature though she kept her right hand out. The magical beast appeared to have been focused on her opened palm; slowly but surely, the beast leaned in and her nose had touched her hand.
"Whoa…" Asta said as he had been in awe.
In but a few short moments he saw the creatures become docile as she started to lick her cheeks, making her giggle. "Asta--" Prism said as she motioned him to come over, "--Come on."
"I-Is it really okay?" Asta asked cautiously.
Prism only nodded as she motioned him to come over again, to which he did this time. Prism soon took his wrist, "Hold your hand out--" She said before she allowed her palm to touch his own, "--Like this."
As she took her hand from his own, he kept it there as he stood as calmly as she did. "Stay perfectly still." Prism instructed, "Let her come to you."
Asta watched as the creature started to come closer to him, till finally her nose touched his palm; at this his eyes sparkled just by how the beast started to lick his fingers. The others seemed to have followed suit as they started to show their friendly side.
"Now feeding them won't be a problem--" Prism said with a smile, "--They'll trust us now."
"You're really amazing!" Asta had commented, "Did you used to do this kind of thing too?"
Prism gave a sheepish laugh, "Ye-Yeah. Like I said--Mother taught me all of her tricks whenever she was away on patrol or hunting, though, I'm not as good as her."
Asta noticed her expression had changed slightly as she started to feed the little ones. He noticed the spirits around her seemed to have changed blue and yellow as her back was turned to him.
"Prism?" Asta asked as he fed the mothers, "... Is something wrong?"
"Why do you ask?" Prism asked.
"The spirits--" He pointed out, "--You said they react to what you're thinking or feeling. They just changed color."
At first she didn't seem to notice until she noticed the fur and aura around them had been blue. "Oh--" She said, "--So they did."
Asta's eyes softened before he approached her side after he gave all the mothers their food. "Hey--" He said as he placed his hand on her shoulder, "--You know you can tell me what's on your mind. We're friends after all."
Prism had been hesitant as she sat herself down on the floor; bringing her legs close to her body she had been practically hugging them. Asta sat by her side as the little babies came to sit around them. For awhile she didn't say anything as she buried her face in her knees.
Asta seemed to have gotten the idea as he had recalled last night.
"Does it--" He soon said, "--Have to do with your panic attack from last night?"
She merely flinched at this sort of thing as she didn't answer his question. At this point Asta had gotten a little nervous, "Ah yo-you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to! I-If it makes you feel uncomfortable then you don't have to talk about it if--"
"Asta." Prism soon said as she had cut him off, "... Can I ask you something?"
Asta replied with a gulp, "Ye-yeah, okay."
She took a deep breath, "... Do you think--There's such a thing as a bad nightmare?"
He couldn't help but look confused, "Do you mean like just a nightmare?"
Prism shook her head, "I mean like a really bad nightmare, like the kind of thing that is so scary it makes you feel like it was real?"
At this he couldn't help but look even more confused by this sort of question, though this time he didn't answer. One of the baby magical beasts went up to Prism; she brought her legs away from her body before she hugged the little creature, allowing them to sit in her lap along with the other smaller spirits that were around her.
"Last night--" Prism soon said as she could briefly see the nightmare again, "--The nightmare I had, this is gonna sound weird, but--I think I was killed."
"EH!? KILLED!?" Asta couldn't help but explain out of confusion. At this Prism looked nervous as she started to let out an embarrassed noise. Almost immediately she hid her face in the hood of her Black Bulls robe. "Ju-Just as I thought! It sounded weird!" Prism said, "Sorry I mentioned it!"
"No! No!" Asta exclaimed, "It just shocked me that's all!" He took a deep breath, "But seriously, you were killed in your dream? Are you sure?"
"I-I think--" She replied nervously, as she groaned as she started to hit her head a little, "--Maybe--I don't know. My head hurts thinking about it." Asta had taken notice of this as he put his arms around her, attempting to comfort her, as she took deep breaths.
"The only thing I remember from the dream was--" She started to say as her body shook, "--I was running from something. The storm I was in, it didn't seem normal… And--" For a moment Prism saw herself holding the familiar yet strange little bundle in her arms, "--I was holding something… Something important…"
"Important…?" Asta said.
"I don't even know what it was but I just had that feeling…" She explained as she looked at her hands as they were shaking, "... But… The scariest thing about it was… I don't even know what I was protecting it from." She couldn't help but hug herself, to stop herself from trembling , "I don't even remember why I was there in the first place or what I was doing! I'm--I'm scared!"
Asta tightened his grip on her as her whole body started to tremble; he saw the spirits around her turned black, from their fur to their aura. "Prism…" Asta said as he started to massage her back, "... I don't know what it was like to go through what you're going through and--Yeah, it can get really scary, but…" He soon said to her with a small smile, "... Maybe not knowing is a good thing."
Prism only looked to him a bit confused as he saw the spirits started to gain their natural color back. "I--" He soon said, "--May not be the smartest guy in the room, but I know that if we're patient and if we're lucky… We'll get the answers we need. And I'm not saying you should forget about it entirely, but, just slow things down, and who knows, maybe we'll find some answers. After all, that's why we're here right?"
He saw the spirits' colors had started to come back fully as they looked more alive then they did before. Prism's own body stopped shaking as she seemed to have calmed down. He soon saw she had a smile on her face as she broke out of the hug.
"You're a really good friend Asta." She said, "And for what it's worth, I think you're pretty smart."
Asta gave a smile and a laugh, "Thanks Pri!"
The two of them began to laugh as the little babies started to jump on them and give them kisses. Though unbeknownst to them a certain Captain had been nearby as he listened to their entire conversation. He leaned against the tree, as he thought about what Prism had explained to Asta.
He had commented as he took a puff from his cigarette, "You know, warm milk can keep the bad dreams at bay."
***
After they had finished feeding the Magical Beasts they started to make their way back to the base. Though they had decided to make it a race as they were racing down the hill with Asta, Magna, Feodora and Karasu neck and neck, Prism was lagging behind them.
"Come on!" Magna said, "Try to keep up!"
"I'm not gonna lose!" Asta yelled.
"Can you stop running so fast!?" Prism shouted as she had been taking deep breaths.
"Seriously, you need to work on your stamina!" Feodora said as she noticed how worn out she looked.
"I'm with her on this one!" Karasu said.
"It's not my fault!" Prism yelled, "I can't help if I'm the slowest!"
Pluck had said, as he had been running backwards without any problems, "Well you should Have Took those training sessions with my mom. That way you can catch up."
"I'm not as fast as you, Plu-Plu! I'm a halfbreed, remember!?"
"No excuses." Pluck said as he sped up.
Suddenly, the four of them found themselves hitting Magna's back as Pluck skidded to a halt when he turned around. They nearly stumbled though they had been quick to recover.
"Ow--" Asta said, before he and the others noticed who had been in front of them.
There that stood before had been a young girl who was fifteen, like Asta and Feodora had been. She had a slender build and pink eyes, as well as long, silver-colored hair, which is usually tied in pigtails; her center bangs over her forehead. She wore a pair of purple stud earrings with a cross flory fitchy shape, and a silver bracelet on her left wrist.
Her outfit consisted of a sleeveless, backless, short purple dress covered by a silver-colored blazer. The blazer has a backless design with sleeves attached at the back that extend slightly beyond her elbows with gold-colored cuffs. The blazer also has a pair of House Silva pins attached to it around her collarbone area with frilly edges and a rounded tailcoat that extends down to her knees. The blazer extended up to her neck where it had frilly edge. It was all held together by a gold locket.
She wore a brown leather belt that supports her pouch, which has a similar color and gold ornaments at its corners. The pouch had been on her right side, as it contained her grimoire. She also wears a pair of silver-colored leg warmers with a gold-colored cuff at both ends and a pair of sandals.
"She's wearing a black robe--" Asta thought, "--Does that mean--?"
"Who's this supposed to be?" Karasu asked as she had stepped towards them.
Pluck immediately growled as He said, "Tell me, this is a joke. What's she doing here?!"
"You know who she is?" Feodora asked as she gave a sneer.
"More like her entire family name." Pluck replied as he gave the silver haired girl a leer.
"Whoa, bro!" Aisling said, "Remember what mom said!"
Pluck had said, "I don't care! Why is she here?!"
"Guys--" Magna soon said, "--This is your colleague. She's the other recruit from this year."
"Wait a minute--" Prism soon said as she noticed the color of her hair, "Is she a--"
"--Wait a colleague?" Asta said before his eyes sparkled, "--I like the sound of that!" He soon held out his hand to her, "Hi there, my name is Asta from Hage Village, and this is Feodora from the same Village!"
"Asta--" Feodora started to say.
"You honestly don't want to do that." Pluck added.
"Let's do our best together!" He said, "It's nice to meet you!"
The girl looked to Asta before she looked at his hand. Much to their own surprise she had slapped it away. "Hey!" Feodora said as she immediately stood in front of him, "What do you think you're doing!?"
"I didn't give him permission for him to speak to me." The girl soon said harshly, "And I don't remember giving you one either."
Feodora's eye twitched before she had a sudden realization, "A royal huh? No wonder I hate your guts."
Pluck gave a huff before he said, "Typical. I expected that from someone like you. Especially for someone like you."
Noelle looked to Pluck as she noticed hjm giving a leer. "So..You must be one of the Barbados. To think someone like you is Royalty themselves. You should know that's no way to talk to a lady."
"Get real, like you show any respect at all." Pluck added as he growled.
"Don't get all high and mighty." Feodora said to Noelle as she cracked her knuckles, "It's gonna make me want to kill you even more."
"Aren't you a royal too?" Pluck asked her, not even noticing a slight twitch from her ear, "I mean--You are from the Diamond Kingdom."
Karasu soon said with a glare, "You really better watch where you step, miss royal. If you're not careful--You could trip."
The girl merely told him, "What will that be, foreigner?"
"Let's just say--You're in for a NASTY fall." He said as he went to draw his sword.
Aine immediately came between them as she said, "H-hey! We shouldn't fight each other!"
"Yeah!" Vandy added, "We're all one big family remember!?"
"Aine, Vandy! Don't defend her!" Pluck shouted at his Siblings making them flinch.
"B-but Pluck--" Asling said.
"You know what mom and dad said right?!" Aidan said.
"You guys should Know fully well about her family in general!" Pluck said. "How they treat people! What we just saw, I say she's no better than her cursed family."
"You're a Silvia!" Prism soon exclaimed in realization, as she had gotten her attention, "Then--That must mean your Mr. Nozel's younger sibling!"
"You're correct--" The girl said, "--My name is Noelle Silvia. I belong to the royal family of this kingdom."
"Wh--What!?" Asta exclaimed, nearly shoving Feodora out of the way, "Ro-Ro-Royal family!?" Immediately he had gotten on his knees as he started to bow, "I do beg your pardon!"
"ASTA!" Feodora exclaimed before she forced him to stand, "Don't grovel for her! She's a royal!"
"Exactly Feo!" Asta said, "We have to pay respects, you know!"
"RESPECT MY ASS!" Feodora shouted, "THEY DON'T DESERVE ANY!"
"Do you have any idea what royals like her do to people like us?!" Karasu said
"I Agree! People like the Silvias don't deserve any! Especially-" Pluck had said to Feodora a bit confused, "Wait, why are you saying that? You're a royal too." Feodora twitched again as she appeared to have a cold look in her eyes.
"At least he understands unlike you two." The girl named Noelle said, making Feodora growl and Pluck glare, "As do you--Your highness." Prism flinched at this sort of thing before Noelle had said, "Though if you ask me--You've chosen the wrong kind of people to associate yourself with."
At this Prism's eyes widened as well as the others as even the triplets and younger siblings' jaws dropped slightly.
"I'm--Sorry?" Prism said.
"Let me clarify--" Noelle said, before she gestured towards the group, "--You've associated yourself with lowly insects. One who barely has mana, one who's a foreigner and a thief, an outsider who has disgraced herself as a royal, and dare I say it--" Her look soon changed as she glared to Pluck, "--A Royal whose father decided to associate himself--With someone who's not human and a mere commoner."
"AN INSECT!?" Asta exclaimed, "WHO ARE YOU CALLING AN INSECT!?"
"LOWLY!?" Magna yelled.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY ABOUT MOM!?" Jubei shouted as she broke out a knife.
"Whoa--!" Aidan said as he swiped it from her, "--No knives! That's dangerous!"
"Weird--" Vandy said, "--I thought dad took that."
Pluck's eyes widened as he grabbed his grimoire, "YOU GOT NO RIGHT TO JUDGE ABOUT WHO MY PARENTS CAN LOVE! AT LEAST MY MOTHER ACCEPTS AND RESPECTS PEOPLE UNLIKE ACCURSED FAMILY!"
Magna immediately held him back as he said, "PLUCK, NO! A-"
"LET ME GO!" Pluck exclaimed, "IT'S PEOPLE LIKE HER THAT MAKES ME SICK!"
Aisling immediately got out her grimoire, as a set of spheres formed in between her fingers, "Explosion Magic: Pop Rocks!"
She tossed them just at Pluck's feet as immediately he hopped out of the way with a scream. Pluck had yelled, "AISLING! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"Saving your sanity bro!" Aisling shouted.
"Hey!" Karasu said to her, as he unsheathed his blade and glared, "For the record, I didn't become a thief by choice! Something you wouldn't understand, you damn royal!"
"Aniki! Dame!" Sachiko shouted as she held him back by his arm.
Noelle huffed as she said to Prism, "Your majesty--These people are out of your league. You don't have to associate with them, when you have someone like me."
Prism's breathing became shallow as she started to sweat; the spirits around her started to turn black again which Asta seemed to have noticed. "Prism?" Asta said.
"Uh--" Feodora said just now, noticing the spirits had changed color and they even started to shiver, "--Is that supposed to happen?"
"What the hell is going on?" Karasu said.
"What the--" Magna said before he even noticed some of them had started to shrink.
"Uh oh--" Aisling said as she and the others realized what was happening.
He saw her body had tensed up as she placed her hand on her shoulder, "It's only fitting--Considering your title. You belong in high society instead of here."
Pluck noticed Prism shaking and the little spirits shivered; some of them even started to change shape. He said to Noelle. "Hey! That's enough! You're scaring her!"
"What's to be scared about Barbados?" Noelle repiled. "I'm merely telling her the truth. Isn't it honorable to tell the Truth you were once taught?"
Pluck soon argued, "You think that's the truth?! You're Despicable as you are twisted! It's like they say, the apple doesn't fall too much from the tree!"
Noelle twitched before she asked "And I suppose you'd know what the princess wants?"
Pluck had argued, "Well I've known her longer! Of course I do! She's not going to associate with some spoiled rich people who don't care about anyone but themselves!"
The little spirits soon became more agitated as by the time their colors had darkened all they could see were white dots from their eyes. "Uh--Pluck--" Vandy said as he sounded nervous.
"What's happening?" Asta said as he saw the spirits started to glow a strange dark blue glow.
"Why are they doing that?" Feodora said as she noticed even their eyes started to glow.
"Pluck--" Jubei said.
"Not now, I'm ranting--!" Pluck soon said before he told Noelle, "--And just like that said group you're the prime example!"
"Pluck--" Aidan said, as Aine had tried to calm Prism down.
Noelle said as she glared at him "you think your group is better?"
He soon said with a glare, "At least here, we don't have someone who was raised to hate others.Just like your parents.
Noelle's eyes widen as she shouted "DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT MY-"
Prism suddenly let out a shriek as suddenly the spirits seemed to grow significantly; everyone immediately ducked and covered when the spirits began to let out various attacks. Most had been that of elemental attacks as it tore a hole in the building creating a dust cloud. They all stood in shock by what had just happened as most of the little spirits looked shriveled like a fruit.
"Just stop it!" Prism shouted as she had been practically in tears, "All of you just stop it!"
And just like that, everyone had been taken back when Prism just took off; just as she did the little spirits including the lemur disappeared in a sudden flash and Adrien followed behind her. She kept her head down as she didn't even realize Yami had been in front of her; she ran straight past him, nearly bumping into him.
"Prism!" Asta called out as she ran blindly into the forest, "Wait!"
"Come back!" Feodora called out.
"Prism!" Karasu called out.
Aisling smacked Pluck on the arm, making him grunt, "Look what you did! You know the spirits react that way when Prism gets anxious!"
"How did she do that!?" Magna exclaimed, "They tore a hole in the base!"
Pluck had told his sister, "Well you know who to thank, that awful Silvia!"
Noelle said as she fixed herself up, "She'll learn. After all she's a royal."
"I'm definitely gonna kill you for that now." Feodora said with an angry smile on her face.
"Not if I do it first." Karasu said.
"What the heck is your problem!?" Asta shouted, at Noelle, "Princess or not we're all supposed to be colleagues as Magic Knights! Who even cares if you're royalty!?"
"That's right Asta you tell her!" Magna yelled, "Status means nothing! If the princess herself can understand that then so can you!"
"Of course status matters." Noelle told them.
"HOW DO YOU FIGURE!?" Asta and Magna shouted.
"Are you foolish peasants unable to understand this from words alone?" She said. She soon held out her hand as it had emitted a blue light, which took them back, "I guess I'll have to show you the differences between our magical powers."
"Oh?" Feodora said as she emitted ice claws, "You're looking to fight you damn royal?"
"Whoa Feo!" Asta exclaimed.
"What do you think you're--!?" Magna yelled.
Karasu drew his blade and got out his grimoire, "Bring it on, you spoiled brat."
Pluck added as he got His swords from his grimoire you're Really asking for it! The less Silivas The better!"
"Whoa guys don't!" Vandy exclaimed.
"YES! LET THERE BE BLOOD!" Jubei shouted.
"JUBEI!" The triplets shouted.
Water started to form around her hand as Asta's body shook as the four of them had gotten ready to attack. "Know your place." She said before she launched it towards them.
However, the attack didn't hit either of them as instead the sphere of water seemed to have changed direction and hit Magna instead, leaving them completely dumbfounded.
"What the--?" Feodora said, shocked.
"Well--That happened." Karasu said, putting away his blade.
Pluck said awkwardly, "Uh… Did you mean to do that or--?"
Noelle merely clicked her tongue at this before she turned away from him which only ticked Pluck off.
"YOU LITTLE BITCH!" Magna shouted, as he fixed up his now wet shades, "You've got some nerve! What do you think you're doing to your senior!?"
"You were just standing in the wrong spot." Noelle merely told him, "Who gave you permission to stand there?"
"WHAT!?" Asta shouted.
"Wrong spo--?" Feodora said, "--How could he have been standing in the wrong spot if we were right in front of you!?"
"You had us, right where you wanted us, and yet you missed." Karasu said.
Pluck said with a growl as he said "You really are a bastard like your brother."
"Why you--" Magna said, "--I'm your senior!"
"And I'm royalty!" She argued.
"THAT DOESN'T MEAN CRAP YOU LITTLE TWERP!" Feodora yelled as she glared.
Magna growled, as he gestured to Yami who had been behind her at one point, "Listen to me! I don't care if you're the silver captain's little sister! The only person who accepted you here is Captain Yami! Be thankful you moron!"
Noelle soon did something that neither of them didn't expect. She tossed the robe off onto the floor as it had made them jump.
"Like I would be a part of this PATHETIC squad!" Noelle yelled, just shocking them. And just like that she walked away leaving all of them just dumbfounded again by what had just happened. "Hey!" Magna called out as he picked up the fallen robe, "What the hell do you think you're doing!?"
"Who cares about the Black Bulls!?" She said, "I don't need that filthy thing! This is the WORST magic knight squad and it's not where royalty like myself and the princess belongs!" She soon went off, just passing Yami again as he had been watching the whole thing.
"Well, don't come back!" Pluck shouted, "GO BACK TO THOSE MONSTERS YOU CALL YOUR MOTHER AND FATHER!"
"PLUCK!" His siblings shouted.
"That's going too far!" Aidan told him.
"Seriously, what's your deal man?!" Magna shouted.
"What?! A bitch like her deserved it! She can kick rocks for all I care!" Pluck exclaimed, making Ashling, Aine and even Feodora gasp.
"PLUCK BARBADOS!" They heard Yukiko's voice yell from the inside making Pluck freeze, "YOU BETTER WATCH YOUR MOUTH, OR YOUR IN FOR ANOTHER LESSON DURING YOUR STUDY SESSIONS!"
Pluck gulped at this as he shrunk a little, "S-sorry."
"How did she hear that?" Karasu said.
"We basically have super hearing." Was all Vandy responded as he pointed to his ears.
"The robe I worked so hard to get--" Asta said dumbfounded, "--She just tossed it away like it was nothing."
"That's what you're upset about!?" Feodora exclaimed.
Yami sighed as he said to them while taking a puff from his cigarette, "Geez, I leave for one minute and you kids are already trying to kill each other."
"Sorry Uncle Yami." Jubei said, hiding her knife behind her back.
"Captain Yami, You know how those bastards in the Silvia Family are!" Pluck argued
Yami had told him, "I know, I know, how your family and theirs had a feud that lasted for a long time." He soon looked to the base as he said while his eyebrow twitched, "BUT WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY BASE?!"
"That was a little accident with the princess sir!" Magna said, "I'm not sure what happened exactly but--"
Asta soon let out a scream as Feodora and Karasu seemed to have come to a sudden realization. "That's right!" Asta exclaimed, "We gotta find her before she hurts herself!"
"Why the hell are you still standing there?!" Feodora said before she started to run off to where Prism went, "Let's go!"
"Hey wait for me Feo!" Asta yelled before he went to catch up to her.
"Seriously, that little tater-tot is more trouble then she's worth!" Karasu said as he ran after them.
"Aniki, matte!" Sachiko called out as she ran after him along with Yoshi who started to bark.
Yami had called out to them, "Hey! Where are you going?!"
"They uh--" Vandy soon started to explain, as he pointed to Pluck "--Kind of said some sensitive things and Prism might've sort of freaked out causing the spirits to wreck the base.
"Pluck may or may not have helped with the situation." Jubei added, "Like usual."
"Shut up, Jubei." Pluck said.
"No she's Right! You went too far!" Vandy said, "You know she's sensitive about being royalty!
"And How can You say that to Our new member?!" Aidan asked.
Pluck said with a growl, "What, it's not like a Silvia like her has feelings!"
"It's true Yami sir." Magna replied, "That being said I had no idea she could freak out."
"Does this mean we can't do that housewarming party for Prism?" Aine asked worryingly.
Yami sighed as he gave Aine a pat on the head before he replied, "Don't write it off just yet." He soon turned to Pluck as he gave a glare, "Hey genius, your lil feud caused your best friend to run away. You're gonna help find her."
Pluck sighed as he said, "Like I have a choice, I was gonna do that anyway."
Yami told him while grabbing his head "And no back talk either."
Pluck groaned as he thought, "Why did I join this squad again?"
"Yeah, let's go find Prism!" Jubei shouted.
The group had been about to fan out though Yami stopped Jubei in her tracks. "Huh?" Jubei said, shocked.
"And you, we talked about this, no knives. You'll poke someone's eyes out." Yami told her
"... I don't have a knife." She said with an innocent look in her eyes.
Yami only gave her a look as he held out his hand. He told her more firmly, "Drop. The . Knife."
Jubei immediately caved as she responded with a gulp, "Ye-Yes sir!" And just like that she dropped the knife into his hand.
"There." Yami said. "Was that so hard?"
Magma had said to Pluck, "You seriously need to control your baby sister."
"Shut up, Magna." Pluck told him.
Thus the whole group fanned out into the forest to find Prism, neither had been unaware that Noelle had been setting up practice targets nearby.