"You can come in now" Milles took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
The principal was not alone in his office. Mrs. Emma had there as well, her eyes cold and unyielding. She held a stack of papers in her hand and seemed to be in the middle of her argument when Milles entered.
Two pairs of eyes moved to look at Milles and he felt unbearably shy at the attention being focused on him.
"Hello, Milles. How can I help you today?" the principal asked while Mrs. Emma took a calming breath. The fire in her eyes felt unnerving to Milles so he tried his best not to pay her any mind.
Her mood might be foul but it would not affect Milles if he did not look at her.
He hoped.
"My dorm in charge said that to report in your office. He must have reported the issue to you already" Milles hated how low his voice came out there. It made him sound terrified and he was not terrified.
At least, not of the principal.
"Let me see" the old man paused whatever he was doing and opened his computer logs.
Milles observed that face carefully and watched as it moved through different expressions before settling on intrigued amusement.
"A magical pup? Really? Well then, I would like to see this magical pup as well" Mrs. Emma had the most comical expression Milles had ever seen on a stoic face and it made laughter bubble up inside his throat.
But he must not laugh.
"A magical pup? You can't be serious. Animal bodies are incapable of holding magic and even if they do, they tend to mutate. Are you sure this is not some kind of mistake on your dorm supervisor's part? And where did you even get a pup from? It is against the school rules to get one." her teacher certainly had much to say about Milles's decisions.
Milles simply chose not to respond to her words. Instead, he opened the front door to let Fenrir in.
The pup had been elt outside the door and slid in as soon as a small crack appeared in the way.
"This pup? He's the reason you got sent here?" Mrs. Emma exclaimed. There was something weird about her today. She also looked a little pale and in pain.
Maybe she was at that time of the month.
"Emma, maybe you should go for now. Isn't the 4th year class arriving shortly? Send Xion my way once she is done resting" that confused face certainly changed in a second to shyness and then annoyance.
Yup, definitely on her periods. Milles recognized the signs.
"I am not her secretary, nor do I maintain Xion's schedule. I will take my leave now" Milles felt the small push as Mrs. Emma walked past him.
They had not physically touched but her magic seemed to be out of order. It was wild and unpredictable today.
A complete change from when Milles had seen her first. Her coldness was no longer there. It made her seem more human than before.
Milles also wondered about the blush he had seen on Mrs. Emma's face as Xion's name had been brought up. There had been something there and it was more than friendship.
Milles was not equipped enough to be able to categorize it just yet.
"Mr. Raycraft, why don't you come here? Let me have a look at the pup first" Milles sighed but he did as asked.
He picked up the pup in his arms and walked toward the principal.
The pup in his arms tensed as he walked closer to the older man. There was a growl building up in the pup's throat and Milles felt it vibrate in his chest.
The pup was feeling threatened.
"Well, that's certainly fascinating. I have never seen an animal behave like this toward magic. Most of them run away afraid. Also, this child is too young to have recognized magic at all. May I hold him please?" Milles felt something twist in his gut as the principal extended his hand toward him.
He did not want to hand the pup over but Milles could not really control his limbs either.
[Warning: Compulsion magic detected. Would the user like to terminate the magic usage]
The warning popped up right between both of them and it was shocking enough for the pup to get out of Milles's arm.
There was a small explosion and then a burning smell reached Milles' nose.
"That proves it. This pup can use magic and use it really well at that. But I have to ask Milles, where did you get this pup?" the principal was holding the burning pup in his arms while blood made its way out of a small bite on his arm.
Milles felt pale at the situation.
The pup had attacked the principal and had injured him badly enough to bleed. Milles would be in so much trouble now.
"M-Miss Irene got him as a teaching aid. H-Her husband brought the pup home but she could not keep him due to animal allergies" Milles watched with a held breath as the principal thought over his words.
Milles had not really lied. Miss Irene's husband was allergic to animals, but mainly to cats. As such, not keeping such a pup was an excuse more than anything.
But Milles doubted that the principal would think like that. Since the principal seemed like a cautious man, he would think of others the same as well.
Maybe.
"Irene, huh? Well, let me check in with her first then. You should relax in the meantime and also take him back" Milles felt a familiar weight in his arms and felt guilty about it.
He should have held the pup tighter and not let go.
But also, he was pissed at the inside. The principal was behaving as if nothing had happened but Milles could not forget the feeling of compulsion magic being cast on him.
How dare the principal do that.
"Milles, it seems as if you are telling the truth but you should also be careful. This is your fourth time in my office for something, not your fault. If you are not careful then others would start to think of you as a troubled child. You are not magically inclined enough to change your mind, not like your sister at least" the principal warned.
Milled heard the hidden, 'you are useless without magic so stay out of trouble' the principal was trying to say.
Milles waited for the other shoe to drop.
"I also feel that keeping the pup with you is dangerous. Especially for you since you won't be able to defend yourself with magic. Hence, I have a proposal for you" and here it was.
Milles felt his mind black for a second. He could hear another voice in his head, a lighter and colder one.
'We don't need another dirty mutt in here when we already have one. See to it that it is disposed of' that lighter feminine voice sent chills down Milles's back.
Milles had been terrified of this exact outcome ever since he had gained the pup. This was the part where he would be forced to give up the pup, huh.
Milled found his throat choking up on the words he wanted to say. It refused to make any noise and Milles felt his eyes water.
Darn, this 11-year-old body. It was far too difficult to control his emotions in it. And why was he remembering his past now? It had been centuries since that woman had died. Milles was free of her now.
"Now, please don't cry Mr. Raycraft, I am not taking the pup away from you. I don't think I can even take him away now. He had imprinted on you" the principal was right but Milles did not agree.
So the principal was not taking the pup away from him? Then what did he want from Milles and the pup?
"What are you going to do?" Milles felt humiliation creep up his neck at the meek voice. He had not sounded like that for a long time.
That woman had not liked it when he behaved emotionally or vulnerably after all. Maybe this situation affected Milles so much now because it was similar to his past.
But unlike the principal, that woman had been ruthless and had the pup killed when Milles had not been looking. It had certainly kept Milles from bringing any more strays home after that.
"I was thinking of assigning you a mentor, someone who can help you out. Milles, you are a brilliant student but you have been dealt with a big handicap. It can affect your life at the academy and that is not what I want for you. I was going to assign you a mentor from the start but the pup just adds on to it" Milles felt his eyes narrow without being aware of it.
A mentor? For him?
Milles had a feeling that his life was about to get a lot more complicated from this moment onwards.